Secret Fantasy
by DracoMione7
Summary: What happens when you fall in love with your sworn enemy? A breathtaking love story. DracoHermione
1. Little Fantasy

"Ron, have you finished Snape's essay?"

"Damn it! I forgot all about it… can I copy yours?"

Hermione sighed. This was not the first time he had forgotten to finish his homework, and this was surely not his last. But when she looked into his big brown, pleading eyes, her anger immediately slipped away.

"Hermione…?" Ron said.

She snapped back to reality and handed him her essay. "Hurry up, or Snape will never let you eat anything but his underpants forever."

Ron rolled his eyes and ran to the library, Hermione stared at his back, thinking of what could be if she ever had the guts to tell him how she felt.

"Underpants? You couldn't get any lamer, Mudblood," a mocking voice said to Hermione's back. Recognizing the voice, she closed her eyes and tried to control her temper.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Hermione muttered, gritting her teeth.

"I see you have a little thing for Weasel… fancy him, eh? Bad jokes _and_ bad taste. You're so pathetic, even I'm embarrassed for you," Draco snickered.

"Well Malfoy, my love life has got nothing to do with you. At least I have people I love and people who love me back. What about you? How's your beloved daddy? Still treating you like dirt? Not surprising," Hermione shot back, and immediately regretted it when she saw fire blazing in Draco's eyes. The next thing she knew, she was pinned to the wall, Draco's face barely an inch away from hers.

"A little crush cannot be compared to family matters. I mock you, but I don't get personal. Play fair, Mudblood," he said in a low voice.

"Don't get personal! What's with all the Mudblood comments then? You don't think that's personal? You're more foolish than you look, Malfoy. Don't talk when you have nothing to say," Hermione yelled at him. Draco pulled away, and gave her a cool look.

"Class is starting. You'd better get going," Draco said, and walk off.

"What a coward," Hermione muttered under her breath, and stormed off the other direction. _Oh thank God Ron has a brain and a heart_, Hermione said to herself, her thoughts drifting away.

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Hermione woke up the next morning an hour earlier than everyone else as usual, got dressed, and went to the library to revise for the upcoming exam in a few months. When she had finished, she went to the great hall to get some breakfast.

A few meters away, Draco sat with his friends, the usual crowd of girls surrounding him, flirting, playing with his hair. Hermione scrunched her face in disgust. Who on earth could fancy a foul mouth, crap attitude faker like him?

Harry and Ron were sitting at their usual place, but Hermione couldn't tell if they were awake yet.

"Hey sleepy heads. What's the matter with the two of you?" Hermione said, taking a seat beside Ron.

"No.. sleep… too much.. homework…" Harry muttered, saliva dripping down his chin.

Hermione sighed, rolled up her sleeves, and banged Harry and Ron's head as hard as she could on the table, startling them. "Awake now? If you're still feeling woozy, I'll do it again, even harder."

"Yes yes yes, we're awake!" Ron said at once, and began eating his breakfast.

"Hello, Granger," a familiar voice said. Hermione turned around to find, of all people, Draco Malfoy, looking down at her with a wide grin on his face.

"What now, Malfoy? Barely any of the Slytherins dare to walk up to a Gryffindor in front of so many people. You must need my help very badly, then," Hermione said, folding her arms across her chest.

Draco's face turned serious. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I do need your um.. help. I uh… I'm having some um… trouble… with Divination. If I don't do well, Trelawney says she'll put a curse on me… I'm quite superstitious…" he whispered, hoping no one would hear.

Ron laughed. "Draco? Asking for help from his enemy? I'll never forget this moment! But why didn't you mind being seen asking for help? I thought you lived on your reputation, pretty boy."

"Crabbe and Goyle dared me to come up and tease Hermione about her being a Mudblood again. I thought I might as well ask her now, I don't have time later," Draco explained.

"Are you asking me to be your tutor, Draco Malfoy?" Hermione grinned. This was all too funny to be true.

Draco looked at the ground, and after a few seconds, he nodded his head lightly. Harry and Ron burst out laughing, but Hermione shushed them.

"Very well then. We start tonight, 8 o'clock, the library."

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At a quarter past 8, Draco rushed into the library and put his books on the table, looking at Hermione.

"You're late," she said, glaring at him. "I have better things to do, you know. I don't live just to be your tutor."

"You didn't tell me to be early," Draco smirked. "Oh, and before we start, I just want you to know that, studying together and all does not change anything between us. You're still my enemy, and I'm still yours. I also want you to keep this a secret. Clear?"

"Whatever. Let's get started," Hermione said.

"Okay. Chapter 3, Fantasy Reading. It says here, you can dig through your partner's memories, and figure out what they have been daydreaming about and so on. So let's see. What is it you don't get about this?"

Draco shrugged. "I don't know how to get the whole procedure done. 3 orchids, 1 maiden's hair, lizard dung, whatever. Divination is such a boring subject, Granger! I don't know how you manage it all."

"You make it sound like I'm in love with Divination class," Hermione muttered. "Now stop complaining and I'll show you."

Hermione had already gathered all the ingredients earlier that day, and begin teaching Draco how to mix them. "Stir seven times left, three times right… wait for two minutes… even out the powder… mix with water… say the incantation… take one gulp and 3 sips…"

When she was done muttering the incantation from the book, which Draco had snickered at her about, she handed him the goblet, and he took one gulp, as written in the book. Then he handed her the cup back, and she took one gulp and three sips, drinking the formula to the very end.

Draco licked his lips, enjoying the sweet taste, feeling no effect taking over him.

"Hmm. Seems you're not so good after all," Draco snickered. Suddenly his eyes grew wide, and he felt like barfing out his entire dinner. He fell off his chair, knees and hands on the ground, choking. When the pain was too unbearable, his muscles loosened, and he got back on his chair and relaxed, closing his eyes.

Hermione, at the same time, felt an odd sensation through her body, but she felt good, and soon she was off to sleep.

The next thing she knew, she was awake and on the ground, her cheeks flushing as Draco watched her wiping off the drool from her mouth.

"Had fun?" Hermione muttered.

"Oh! Too too much," Draco grinned. "I saw… everything. And I'm going to tell everyone."

"Tell everyone what?" Hermione panicked.

"All those malicious fantasies with you and Ron. I see you're not such a goody goody girl after all. All that undressing, that touching… It would have been more romantic though if it had been someone handsome… I mean, Ron? I can't imagine it… but you sure did!" Draco laughed, almost falling off his chair, laughing even harder as Hermione's cheeks turned red.

"That's enough for today," Hermione said, packing up her books.

"Oh come on… the fun just started!" Malfoy said, but Hermione was already out the door.

**Hi people! Well, this is my second fanfiction. The first one didn't turn out so well, so I practiced writing and now I think I'm ready for a second fic. Please review! Tell me what you think, and if you think its pretty okay, give me strength to carry on and update! D**


	2. Heartbreaker

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Hermione, Ron, and Harry were flying their brooms by the lake.

"So Hermy… I was thinking.. Would you like to-..." Ron said, stopping as Hermione turned around to look at him with her beautiful brown eyes. _She's gorgeous_, Ron thought, forgetting to finish his sentence.

"Yes, Ron?" Hermione said.

"Uh.. Would you like to go on a date with me next week? We get to go to Hogsmeade again," Ron finished, his cheeks turning pink. "Um… you know… if you don't want to and all, it's okay," Ron added quietly.

Hermione blushed. "No no, I'd love to, Ron."

"Great, then!" Ron said eagerly. "Quidditch practice starts soon. I gotta go. See you at dinner!" Hermione watched him jump up and down as he ran to the Quidditch field, happy as ever.

Hermione rushed to dinner, hurrying into the great hall. The whole Gryffindor table hushed as Hermione walked in. When she realized what everyone must have been thinking, she quickened her pace, eager to sit down and hide under Ginny's armpit. But before she did that, she had to kill Ron.

"You little weasel!" Hermione said angrily, her hand in the air, ready to smack Ron.

"Hermione, stop! I'm really sorry! I was so excited, I got carried away!" Ron quickly explained, his hand over his head.

"You know how embarrassed I get over these kind of things! I don't like everyone's attention on me!" Hermione yelled, causing even more people to turn and watch the scene.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry and I'll never do it again dear," Ron said, emphasizing the _dear._

_Oh, Ron. How could I ever tell you how I feel about you now? How I just want to smack your big fat backside and tear your face apart_, Hermione thought. _And what's with the 'dear'?_

"No matter, what's done is done," said Harry wisely.

Hermione ate her dinner as fast as possible and stormed out the great hall, heading for the library.

"Hey, wait up!" someone called. Hermione turned around, and smiled her widest when she saw who it was.

"Malfoy! Decided to come early this time?" Hermione smirked.

"Ha ha. Yes, for you," Malfoy said. Hermione looked away so he wouldn't see her turn bright red.

"Well, let's go then."

Hermione and Draco got into the library and took their seats at a private place, and began their work.

"Okay, so… let's see. We're still at Chapter 3. You have to learn the rules and precautions during the procedure. If you get the formula wrong, you could erase the dream or fantasy," Hermione explained.

"You could also erase his or her entire memory, and he or she would probably never recover, if unlucky," Malfoy continued proudly.

"I see you've been studying," Hermione smiled. "Well, I thought it'd be fun if we tried the fantasy thing again. So now you'll make the entire thing, and I'll watch and instruct. It's my turn to read your fantasies."

Half an hour later, Draco stirred the milky water and took a gulp and three sips. He handed Hermione the goblet, and she finished it off.

A moment later, Hermione was on the ground, choking, tears coming out of her eyes, the pain in her stomach was unbearable. Draco sat back and watched, totally calm as this very procedure had happened to him the last time they tried this. Then, when Hermione could choke or cry no more, the pain subsided as quick as lightning, and her eyes automatically closed. Draco layed back, and fell into a deep, silent sleep.

Hermione waited, and found herself walking around in a blank space. There was absolutely nothing around anywhere, and she began to panic. What if she was going to be lost in Draco's mind forever?

Then suddenly, a television set appeared, along with a couch and the remote control. She picked it up, and began flipping through channels.

Each channel contained a part of Malfoy's memory. She flipped and flipped until she reached a channel called Fantasy Land. She felt the couch slowly move towards the TV screen, and the next thing she knew, she was in Fantasy Land, circus rides and games surrounding her.

"Where am I?" She asked no one in particular.

She looked at the sign boards of every amusement ride, and they all had weird titles of Draco's activities in school, such as _Bullying Potter, Poisoning Patil, _and one which made Hermione furious,_ Granger the Mudblood._

She walked into the House of Mirrors, and played around with the mirrors. But to her surprise, they weren't reflecting herself, they were reflecting other people. She saw a mirror with the words Best Friends printed all over the frame, and in the mirror stood Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini. She walked to the very end of the House, until she reached a beautifully designed mirror, with ribbons and hearts all around it, facing the wall. She walked up to it, eager to see who the person standing in that love mirror was.

Just as she was about to take a look, a voice from the back of her head yelled, "Time's up!"

Hermione's eyes shot open, and she looked up at Draco. "Malfoy! Why did you interrupt me? I was just getting to the good part."

"Oh, whatever. I was already awake a long time ago and I saw you sleeping there, wasting my precious time, so I woke you up. I don't have all night, Granger," Malfoy smirked, and they went back to their studying, rapping it up an hour later and planning their next meeting together.

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Hogsmeade weekend came, and Hermione and Ron were at Madam Parotti's Love House. Ron had worn an especially nice outfit that day, and was being a true gentleman..

"So, um… Hermione… How's life?" Ron asked stupidly as they sat down at a heart-shaped booth.

"Good, good," Hermione answered, playing with her fingers. They both felt the uneasiness, and were desperate to ease the atmosphere. They were so much better as friends. Being in a relationship could ruin it all.

"Um… I was voted best keeper of all the Quidditch teams," Ron said, trying to make conversation.

"Uh, that's great Ron," Hermione answered, still playing with her fingers

"So, would the lovely couple like to order?" a waitress in bright pink said.

"Um, we're not uh… never mind," Hermione started. "Yes, I'd like a FrogChocolata and French fries please," Hermione ordered.

"And I would take the lasagna and greenberry pie," Ron said.

The waitress walked off, and the uneasiness came back once again. Hermione placed her hands on the table, but Ron mistook it as a hint to hold her hand. He giggled, and reached forward, playing with her fingers. Hermione, startled, pulled back, and blushed.

"Um, Ron… I don't think I'm ready for that yet," Hermione said shyly.

"What? I was just holding your hand… I would have understood if it was about sex or something, but this?" Ron said, losing his patience. "Look, Hermione, do you or do you not want to go out with me? Is there someone else you fancy?"

Hermione sighed. "No, Ron. It's not that."

"Then what is it, Hermione? I'd really like to know," Ron shouted.

"Keep your voice down, Ron!" Hermione said self-conciously.

"Don't tell me what to do, Granger!" Ron yelled even louder, making everyone turn and stare. He got up, upsetting the table. "You're wasting my time." And with that, he stormed out the restaurant, leaving Hermione guilty and embarrassed.

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"Malfoy," Blaise Zabini called. Draco turned around and smiled.

"Yo Zabini. What's up?" Draco replied. They strolled around in the cool breeze, window shopping.

"I saw you with that nerdy girl, Granger. What's going on?" Blaise confronted.

"It's nothing, Zabini. I've just been teasing her about being a Mudblood a lot lately," Draco lied. "She's getting weaker and weaker, so it's more fun to tease. She's loosening up, giving in, totally letting me insult her parents and herself! What a loser."

Draco immediately felt guilty for saying so many bad things about Hermione, but he had to keep his reputation up. He never liked being a mean guy, but it was the only way he could prove he was tough and not a little weakling. He wanted to prove that he was up to his father's standards.

"Whatever, Malfoy," Zabini said, shrugging.

"Hi Draccccoooooo!" a girl's voice called out. Pansy Parkinson ran up to Draco and planted a kiss on his cheek. "I know you're still saving your first lip kiss for that 'special someone'. Well, it's so obvious that I'm that special someone, but I'll be patient and let you get used to me kissing your cheek, then I'll move on to your lips later," Pansy announced happily.

Draco forced a smile, and looked back at Zabini.

"It's nothing, Zabini. Me and that Granger girl have got nothing going on, alright? She's just a useless ugly bushy-haired freak who seeks too much attention. I just talk to her and insult her more to show her what a total arse she is," Draco said.

Blaise looked at Draco for a second, searching for a lie on his face, but Draco had so much experience and he could hide it so well. Blaise decided to believe Draco, and smiled.

"Yeah, Malfoy, burn that Mudblood," Zabini said, patting his back. "That's the way life goes."

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"So, yea, that's how you figure out whether your partner's dream was good or not," Hermione explained. Hermione looked at Draco, but all he did was stare at her.

_She's got pretty eyes_, he thought to himself.

"Malfoy, are you even listening to me?" Hermione asked, irritated.

"You look cute when you get angry," Draco commented.

"Oh, shut up Malfoy. I have no time for this. Do you want to get an A for Divination or not?" Hermione snapped.

"Yeah yeah, whatever," Draco shrugged.

"Now, I'll ask you some questions according to the book, and you're gonna have to answer them truthfully," Hermione instructed. Hermione began to question him, and Draco obediently answered.

"What's your favourite food?"

"Uh… I like jelly beans," Draco answered.

"Okay… what do you do when you're bored?"

"Beat up little kids," Draco snickered. Hermione rolled her eyes, and blushed at the next question. "What is it?" Draco asked.

"Who do you fancy at the moment?" Hermione asked. Somehow, a part of her wondered if he was going to say it was her.

"I'm not going to answer that," Draco said simply.

"Malfoy… come on," Hermione pleaded. Draco gathered his books and pushed his chair underneath the table. "We're done for the night."

Hermione watched as Malfoy stormed out the library, and sighed. "You just had to scare him away, huh?" she muttered to herself. But somehow she was desperate to know who he fancied... probably because she kind of wished it was her.

_Well, there's only one way to find out_, Hermione thought. _The Fantasy potion._

Everyone in the great hall watched in shock as Hermione walked over to the Slytherin table and hopped up to Draco with a big smile on her face, a little bottle of the Fantasy potion in her hand.

"Hi, Malfoy!" Hermione said cheerfully. Malfoy glared at her, with a look that said, _why are you trying to ruin my reputation! _

"I just wanted to tell you that your feet stink," Hermione said lamely. The whole Malfoy gang laughed at her pathetic attempt to insult Draco.

"What do you really want, Granger?" Pansy said, smirking. "Don't stand here too long, you're ruining my image."

"Well, actually, I was in the middle of a fight with Malfoy last night, and he said some nasty things about you, Pansy. I don't know why he brought you up. He said I'm as idiotic as you are or something like that. I just wanted to come and tell you the truth, because I couldn't stand to have this little brat lying," Hermione said.

"Oh, is that so?" Pansy said, turning to Draco angrily.

"Wha- But I- No it's not what you-.." Draco began. Pansy and Draco started to argue loudly, and no one's attention was on Hermione any longer. She seized the chance to pour half of the potion in his cup, and she was done.

"Well, I'd better get going then," Hermione said cheerfully, turning around. She ran out of the great hall, grabbed some toast as her breakfast, ran to the Gryffindor common room and drank up the potion that was left in the bottle. Then she waited for Draco to drink his, and the spell would begin.

It seemed that Draco was taking a long time to finish his goblet of juice, but he finally got down to it, and Hermione began to feel the pain in her stomach. She yelped and ached, squinting her eyes, begging the pain to stop, and soon enough it did, and Hermione was once again in a blank world, with a television set and a comfy couch.

She flipped through the channels until she had found Fantasy Land, and the couch brought her in. She walked around the familiar funfair, and found the House of Mirrors. Without hesitation, she ran in, all the way to the back of the room, and saw the beautiful decorated mirror facing the wall. Hermione walked up towards it slowly, and turned to look at it.

And to her disappointment, she saw Pansy.

All of the sudden, memories began to flash back. Draco hadn't drunk the potion according to gulps and sips, so it wasn't working well. All she could see were flashes of what happened between him and Pansy. What Hermione saw was horrible, and she was too shocked to utter a single word.

She saw Pansy running up to Malfoy, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Then it went off and she heard Malfoy say awful things about her.

"_What a loser."_

"_She's just a useless ugly bushy-haired freak who seeks too much attention."_

Before Hermione could hear what else Draco said, she snapped back to reality. She closed her eyes, tears wetting her cheeks, and buried her face in her hands.

Draco didn't fancy her. He hated her. She was a Mudblood, his enemy. Now she knew the truth.

But why did the truth have to be so cruel ?

**Hi again! Sorry if this chapter seemed too rushed. I wrote both chapters on the same day, because of the rush of ideas coming to me. So, thanks anyway for my first 4 reviews. They really gave me a boost. ) Review some more! Feel free to point out mistakes or give advice, just don't be too mean (**


	3. To Be With You

Hermione woke up the next morning feeling absolutely horrible. Her eyes were red and puffy, her nose was blocked, and there was a huge clog of hair all tangled up. She couldn't remember how she got so terrible, and she didn't know why she felt like she had spent the night in hell.

_Why do I feel so terrible anyway? Malfoy is always saying bad things about me, isn't he?_ Hermione thought. But somehow it hurt her even more, and she just couldn't put a finger to the reason why

Everyone was already downstairs having breakfast. It was unlike her to be late. She hurriedly put on her robes and ran to the great hall. When she got there, she saw the one boy that made her remember exactly why she had been crying all night.

_Malfoy_, Hermione thought.

She closed her eyes before her tears spilled out again, and hurried to sit beside Ron and Harry. But when she saw Ron, she remembered that she wasn't on very good terms with him either, so she spun around and tiptoed out the great hall before they noticed she had walked in. Guess she would have to go hungry till everything goes back to normal again.

IF everything goes back to normal again.

During Divination, Hermione sat alone at the back of the class. She looked up, and caught Draco staring at her. He smiled for a second, but frowned when she didn't smile back.

Hermione glared at him, uttering swears and curses under her breath. She loathed the bloody sleazebag, the old dung. She would never forgive him for the things he had said about her that day, during his conversation with Zabini.

"Malfoy. Would you care to show the class how to make the solution for Fantasy Reading?" Professor Trelawney said. Malfoy stood up proudly, walked over to the center of the class, and began to create his potion. A while later, Professor Trelawney took the goblet of milky substance and held it up. "Who would like to give it a taste? Two volunteers please."

When nobody had put their hand up, afraid that Draco's potion could have been made incorrectly and things could go terribly wrong, Professor Trelawney sacrificed herself, and called out Ron Weasley to assist her.

"Now, Ronald, I would like you to take one gulp, and breathe in deeply. You will feel a slight pain in your stomach, well fine, a terrible pain, but it will subside as soon as it has started, and I want you to close your eyes," Professor Trelawney instructed. Ron nodded his head frantically, and repeated under his breath, _I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die…_

When they both drank their share of the potion, Ron began to scream in pain. Draco, Crabbe and Goyle stood in front of the crowd, laughing as they watched Ron tossing himself around the room, desperate for the pain to stop, and it finally did a few seconds later. Then, he sat on his chair, and closed his eyes after Professor Trelawney closed hers.

A few minutes later, Ron opened his eyes, and grinned widely. "Professor… I had no idea you felt that way about Snape."

Everyone in the room started to laugh. Professor Trelawney and _Snape_!

"Shush everyone, it's no big deal," Professor Trelawney said sternly, her face showing every little sign of how great a deal it was to her. "And that's _Professor _Snape to you, Weasley."

The rest of the day went fine, until dinner.

"Hermione! Hold on!" Draco called out.

Hermione didn't stop. She continued walking, and pretended not to hear him. When he caught up to her, she realized that she couldn't avoid him, and decided to just listen to what he had to say, and then walk away.

"I wanted to say um.. well… thanks… for helping me with Divination and all…" Draco said, blushing. "Professor Trelawney told me I did really well after class earlier today."

"Good for you," Hermione said shortly, not looking him in the eye.

"So I was thinking," Draco continued, not sensing her impatience. "Maybe we could meet up again tonight to start on the 4th chapter?"

"I don't think so," Hermione snapped. Draco blinked, hurt in his eyes.

"Hermione? What's wrong?" Draco asked, concerned. He reached out to touch her arm, but she pushed him away.

"Don't try and act all concerned and nice. I know who you really are, Draco. I know what you've been saying about me to your friends. You're real horrible, you know that? I don't want to see your face ever again," Hermione spat, tears filling her eyes. With that, she turned around, leaving Draco stunned, and guilty as ever.

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"Would you pleeeease just tell me who it is you fancy already?" Ron pleaded Hermione in the common room that night. Harry was already dozing off by the fire, his half-written essay slipping from his fingers.

"No, Ron. I don't fancy anyone. I thought I fancied someone else, but no, I guess I was wrong about him," Hermione said. "Anyway, I just wanted to apologize for the way I treated you at Hogsmeade that day."

"Sure, I'm okay with it. You seem real upset though… I guess I'll leave you alone then. Promise me you'll tell me one day?" Ron said.

"Okay, okay. Friends?" Hermione smiled. She needed her friend back, after what had happened that day. Comfort was all she wanted, and knowing that she had one enemy less to worry about. She reached out and hugged Ron, glad that one of her problems was solved.

Harry opened his eyes slightly and saw the two of them hugging. "Oh, wonderful… friends again eh?.. mm.. penguinnnn… come to daddy………" he muttered, and fell asleep once again.

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Hermione spent her whole week avoiding Draco, taking the long way around the school just in case she would bump into him, avoiding eye contact during meals, keeping at least a distance of 10 yards away from him. She was desperate to forget about him, and hopefully get over him.

But this was Draco Malfoy she was talking about. Who could resist him?

It was windy that day, the breeze was helping her relax her nerves and blow away her tension. She strolled by the lake, watching the Slytherin Quidditch team practicing. She looked away before she could see Draco. She didn't want to think of him when she was finally relaxed and happy.

She spotted Ron and Harry and ran up to them, waving.

"Hey, Hermione," Harry greeted. "Look at those Slytherins play… they don't stand a chance! Gryffindor's definitely going to win the upcoming match, don't you agree?"

Hermione nodded, disinterested in Quidditch talk, and lay down on the grass beside Harry.

"Malfoy's not even half as good a seeker as you are, Harry," Ron complimented. Hermione let out a sigh of frustration a little too loudly, and Ron turned to look at her. _Did he HAVE to mention that boy's name? _She thought. "Is something wrong, 'Mione?"

"Oh nothing, everything's fine!" Hermione quickly replied. "I'm feeling a little unwell. I think I'll go upstairs and take a nap. Catch you two later alright?"

Before Ron or Harry could respond, Hermione was already up and running off.

She stopped sprinting as soon as she got inside, and sat down to catch her breath. She closed her eyes, tension coming back to her again, and she silently cried. Suddenly, she felt someone's hand touch her cheek, wiping her tears away. Her eyes shot open in surprise, and saw Draco sitting beside her, smiling.

"Don't cry… It's okay…"

Hermione pushed him off. "You said awful things about me. How dare you come up to me and speak to me? I told you I didn't want to see you again."

"I know, Hermione. But I want to explain… I was just covering up… I didn't know I sounded so horrible till I thought back about what I had said. I'm sorry, Hermione, I really am. Give me another chance to prove I'm not that kind of person," Draco pleaded.

"I need a tutor, Hermione. I need your help. I need you," he finished.

Hermione looked at him, his words going round and round her mind. _I need you, Hermione._

"Okay. Meet me in the library tonight, 8:00pm as usual," Hermione instructed. She gave him a small smile to assure him that she was cooling down, and the two walked off, feeling totally calm, and totally happy.

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"It says here you have a strong attraction to ice cream and cookies," Hermione laughed.

Draco looked at Hermione and smiled, happy to be on good terms with her again. It was really odd fighting with her, not talking to her, not being able to see her smile. He was glad that was all over. He thought of Pansy, of how she used to mean something to him, but now, he saw her merely as a friend. Everytime he looked at Hermione, he couldn't help but smile. She was just there all the time; smiling, laughing… her bouncy hair, big brown eyes, wide smile, and when she gets angry, she's just the cutest ever.

"What?" Hermione said, when she realized Draco was staring at her.

"Nothing," Draco said, grinning. "You just have the prettiest eyes ever."

Hermione blushed. _This isn't very much like Draco… where did the mean, conceited jerk go? Who was this kind, sweet person replacing him?_ Hermione thought. Whatever it was though, she loved this side of him. Truly loved it.

Draco got up, and Hermione's heart skipped a beat. He walked over to her, touched her cheek. "Wh-what are you doing, Draco?" Hermione whispered softly, her heart beating faster and faster.

"Hermione," he whispered her name smoothly. "I know how you found out about what I said about you. You saw Pansy when you were reading my fantasies, didn't you? I want you to drink the potion.. I made it earlier… I want to show you who is in the mirror now."

Draco handed her the little bottle of liquid, and Hermione obediently drank it up, and gave the rest to Draco. They waited for the solution to take effect, and when Hermione started coughing and choking, Draco closed his eyes, ready to fall asleep, totally professional at this as he had done this procedure plenty of times.

Inside Draco's mind, Hermione went back to the place she was the last two times. She got on the couch, switched to the channel she wanted, and was so excited to find out who was in the mirror that she jumped in the television screen without waiting for the couch to carry her in. She sprinted towards the House of Mirrors, and ran all the way to the back of the house, and saw the familiar pink mirror surrounded with hearts and glitter. Somewhere in her mind she knew who it was going to be standing there, but she wanted to see it with her own eyes to be perfectly sure.

She slowly walked towards the mirror, and turned it around. Sure enough, she saw her own self standing there, smiling, and Draco came into the mirror, holding her, kissing her. It all felt so real, so true, she could just feel his warmth and his breath on her neck…

"So now you know, not that you didn't know earlier already," Draco said when Hermione opened her eyes. He picked her up and put his hands around her waist. Hermione's hands found her way behind his neck, and they moved closer to each other.

"I've been waiting for this… I've been wanting you…" Draco whispered.

"So have I."

Draco touched her cheek, and traced her lips. Then he leaned down, and kissed her softly. Hermione let go her breath and relaxed, falling into the spell that was taking over her body, and all she wanted at that moment was to be with him, and to never let go of him. Draco held her tighter, passionately kissing her as she ran her hands through his hair. They finally let go, still holding each other, and swayed to no music in particular.

"All I want is to be with you…"

**Hey, this one is kinda rushing isn't it? Sorry about that, it's like 2a.m now and my eyes are dying… sorry for the rush, I'll try and do better nextime! Oh, and please review!**


	4. The End?

"… and we talked the whole night long about how we've actually been attracted to each other for quite some time! He said he always had something for me, that's why he never insulted me or did anything mean to me as badly as he did to Ron and Harry!" Hermione said happily.

"But uh… Mione.. you DO realize that this is Malfoy we're talking about?" Ginny said, her eyes wide open ever since Hermione brought up the subject.

"Oh yes I do! That's the beauty of it! And don't call him Malfoy, call him Draco," Hermione grinned.

Ginny forced herself not to roll her eyes, and faked a smile. "I'm so happy for you, Hermione. Are you going to tell people about this?"

Hermione laughed. "Of course I am! I could end the hatred and tension between Slytherin and Gryffindor once and for all! Let's go to the great hall now."

Ginny and Hermione ran downstairs, and skipped their way into the great hall. The moment she saw Draco, she smiled and waved. Draco was unsure whether he should wave back or pretend to hate her again, but Hermione gave him the answer to his question when she skipped happily towards him, a big, beautiful smile on her face.

"Draco! I've missed you," she said, kissing him on the cheek. Everyone in the great hall turned to watch this unbelievable moment.

"Uh.. you too, Mione," Draco whispered consciously. He looked around and turned pink when he noticed everyone looking his way. "Um, Hermione, I'll catch you later okay? I'm in the middle of something with my friends," he said quickly.

"Oh, alright then. See you!" Hermione said, and hopped of to her seat at the Gryffindor table. Draco let out his breath and wiped off a trickle of sweat from his forehead.

Hermione took a seat beside Ron, who was staring at her with his jaw hanging open, eyes wide as if Nearly-Headless Nick had walked right through his body, sending a ghostly chill down his spine. "H-h-hermione…?" Ron said softly. "W-was that.. Mmmalfoy you were talking to just now?"

"Yeap. What's wrong with that, Ronnie?" Hermione replied casually.

"And not just talking.. kissing!" Ginny added.

"Like this?" Harry said beside Ginny. She turned around and smiled at him, and they embraced in a long kiss. Ron was too shocked about what happened between Malfoy and Hermione that he didn't bother to complain about Ginny and Harry kissing in public this time.

Ron's surprise and shock quickly turned into anger. _She left me… for MALFOY!_

"I have to go pee," Ron muttered, standing up and upsetting the plates in front of him.

"What's wrong, Ron?" Hermione asked. "You didn't even sip your pumpkin juice. How could your bladder be so full that you'd have to go the loo at a time like this?"

"It's my bladder, I'll do whatever I like with it," he snapped, and stormed out the hall.

"What did I do?" Hermione wondered aloud.

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"Dracoooo-eeee!" Hermione called out in a tiny chipmunk voice.

Draco turned around and smiled. Hermione ran up to him and gave him a gigantic hug, kissing him all over. "Big Quidditch match tomorrow. Are you ready?" she asked, as they headed for Divination class.

"Almost, dear. You'll be there to cheer for me, won't you?" Draco asked.

"Of course I will, silly! I'm your #1 fan," Hermione replied with a toothy grin.

As they turned round the corner, Draco spotted his group of friends at a corner, probably bullying a first year again. He hurried to them, wanting to catch up on the action, but Crabbe stopped him. "Sorry, man. This is for the SlyClub. And you're not in it."

Draco stared at him in shock. "Are you joking! I created that club!" Draco complained.

"Sorry, Malfoy. Zabini took over," Goyle answered simply.

"But what did I do to get kicked out?" Draco asked, desperate for a sensible reason.

"Zabini said you lied to him about hating Hermione, and now that you're dating that Mudblood, they can't have a traitor like you in the club. I'd have to agree, it's embarrassing, Malfoy. Get lost," Goyle snapped, and continued punching the little first year he was holding on to.

Draco turned around to look at Hermione, not believing what had just happened. He was in that club 5 years ago! He _created _that club 5 years ago. And now he just got kicked out by his so called best friend?

"It's alright, Draco. You don't have to be in that stupid club anyway," Hermione said sympathetically, touching Draco on the shoulder. He shrugged her off, irritated. He knew she didn't mean it, but he was still angry, yet decided to hold it in for her sake.

"I was thinking, do you want to sneak out tonight and spend some time together?" Hermione asked. Draco smiled and nodded, his anger slipping. "That would be great."

At midnight that night, Draco snuck out and hurried to the lake before anyone saw him. He sat on the damp grass and waited. Moments later, a slim, dark figure came running quickly towards him, and when she came into clearer view, he grinned, and kissed her.

"Hey girlfriend," he greeted. They lied down on the grass, staring at the beautiful sky with a million stars, the moon shining brightly at the corner of their view.

"It's so beautiful out here," Hermione commented, resting her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat. She giggled, and looked up at him. "Are you nervous, Mr. Malfoy? Your heart is beating pretty fast."

Draco blushed and kissed her again, saying nothing.

"Silence is beautiful," he whispered to her a few moments later. "You are beautiful."

"Tell me you love me, Draco," Hermione said softly.

"I love you," Draco replied.

"Tell me you need me," Hermione said again.

"I need you," Draco followed.

"And tell me I'll be with you forever…" Hermione whispered so softly, it was barely audible.

"You'll be with me… forever."

They lay together in silence, staring at the sky, feeling nothing else but happiness.

The next morning, everyone hurried through their breakfast and rushed to the stadium for the first Quidditch match of the year. Hermione took a seat on the benches while Ron and Harry were in the changing room with the team for a group meeting. It was a beautiful day, the sky a uniform pearly white, with no wind to blow them off course.

"Okay," Harry said. "I want to win this, for the glory and also to show the Slytherins that we are a million times better than they are. I'm going to need everyone's full spirit and participation to win this match." Harry glanced at his watch. "It's time. C'mon everyone… and good luck."

The team rose, shouldered their brooms and marched in single file out of the changing room and into the dazzling sunlight. A roar of cheers and whistles greeted them, louder than the cheers the Slytherin team was getting.

Draco stood in the front of his team, caught Harry's eye, and smirked, showing him the victory sign.

The balls were released and fourteen players shot upwards. Ron streaked off towards the goal hoops, flying around frantically. Harry zoomed higher and higher, dodging a Bludger, and gazed around for the Snitch. On the other side of the stadium, Draco was doing exactly the same, searching for a glint of gold.

Finally, Draco spotted it, and shot down to grab hold of it. When Harry saw him charging down, he too followed behind, speeding up.

"It's Felton, Felton with the Quaffle. And now it's with Radcliffe," the commentator's voice ringing through the stadium.

Draco was so close to the Snitch. From the corner of his eye, he saw Harry charging down him, his hand outstretched. Potter can't beat me, Draco thought. He caught up to it, and stretched his hand as far out as he could and almost touched the Snitch, when he heard someone scream his name, distracting him. He turned around to see Hermione jumping up and down from a distance.

"Go, Draco! I love you!" Hermione yelled. "Uh, go Harry too!" she added meekly.

Draco looked back in front of him, but it was too late. The Snitch was gone, and worst of all, he was about to smack right into the wall.

And that was all he could remember, until he woke up, Hermione looking up at him with big, concerned eyes. He looked around, and saw the familiar looks of the hospital wing.

"You alright, dear?" she said, stroking his hair.

_If she didn't distract me, I could've gotten the Snitch and ended the whole darn game,_ Draco thought angrily. All the love he felt for her the previous night flew away, leaving him with anger. He sat up, and glared at her.

"Why did you call out to me when I was in such concentration, Mione? You ruined everything for me!" Draco yelled at her, losing his temper. Hermione jumped back, startled, unable to react.

"But, Draco.. I… I didn't know it was wrong.. I'm sorry," Hermione whispered softly.

"That match meant everything to me! Do you know how I feel now?" Malfoy continued to yell.

"Yes, yes I do.. B-but… I had no idea at that time that it would distract you! I'm sorry Draco honey, forgive me please!" Hermione pleaded. Draco didn't reply, he just lay back on the bed and turned his back to face her, and fell back to sleep, leaving Hermione sitting there in sadness.

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"Hermione, you look awful!" Ron commented. He was in the common room early that Sunday with Harry, hurrying through their homework. "What did Malfoy do to you!" he said right away.

"It's nothing, Ron, we just had a fight, that's all," she said, rubbing her eyes. "I was up all night studying, not worrying about the fight. It was a small matter, everything is fine," she lied.

Ron looked unconvinced, but decided to leave it at that. "I'm gonna go to the kitchen and see if I can get anything from Dobby," Hermione muttered, walking out of the common room.

Ron sighed and went back to his Potion's essay, and sighed one more time. Harry chuckled, and looked at Ron. "You still fancy her," he confronted simply. Ron's cheeks burned and he looked at his shoes. "Yeah, so what if I do?" he weakly tried to defend himself.

Harry chuckled again. His chuckle was starting to annoy Ron very much. "You're so jealous of her and Malfoy, it's obvious."

"Oh please. I'm not jealous, just confused and upset. How could Hermione go for someone like Malfoy? He's a horrible old fag with a baboon's backside. If I were Hermione, I wouldn't even want to go near that wart-hog," Ron muttered.

Harry chuckled again. "Would you stop chuckling!" Ron snapped. Harry apologized, and went back to his work quietly. Ron huffed and too continued with his work, but wasn't paying much attention. His mind kept running back to Hermione, how beautiful her big brown eyes were, how her smile made him smile…….

Draco was walking down the hallway, already recovered from his injuries. He took his time to walk as he had no destination, and he couldn't stop thinking of Hermione. Sometimes he felt so in love, so happy that he was with her, but when he thought about all those times she had embarrassed him in front of his friends and the whole school, his love for her faded away slightly. He felt guilty for hurting her, but still felt like she had deserved it. He needed someone to make him happy, someone to make him smile again.

"Draco," someone called out his name. He turned around and saw Pansy, looking very different today. Her short black hair was neatly combed, and it seemed like she had put on some make-up, disguising her pudgy nose and enlarging her eyes.

"You look upset.. let me help you feel better," she purred. Draco stood there, somehow unable to move, and he didn't really want to. She walked over to him and touched him, sending a chill through his body. She rubbed against his body, and her face got as close as it could get to his. "Don't be afraid.. your little girlfriend is far from here."

With that, she leaned over and kissed him, and Draco did nothing to resist. He had no feelings for Pansy any longer, but he just wanted to forget about Hermione for just one moment, and kissing Pansy was working well. They embraced, their hands getting everywhere, touching each other in places they weren't supposed to. Nothing could feel as good as this at that moment to Draco, and he didn't want it to end.

Hermione hurried down the stairs, reaching the main hall, and headed for the pathway to the school kitchen. She was feeling hungry after not eating for so long from all that depression. She was practically dying, not being able to kiss Draco, to touch him, to feel him, to love him…

She jogged down the hall, and turned to the corner, almost bumping into someone. She jumped back to look at who she was about to hit, and saw two people kissing each other rather passionately and vulgarly. She looked closer and realized it wasn't just two normal Hogwarts students. It was her boyfriend, Draco Malfoy, and Pansy Parkinson.

Draco finally pulled away from the kiss, trying to catch his breath. He looked up at Pansy, and saw that she was staring at something. He urned his head to see who she was staring at, and saw none other than Hermione standing before him, tears running down her cheeks, damping her robes.

"Hermione, I-.." Draco started, but Hermione cut him off.

"No, don't say anything. I don't want to hear anything that comes out of your filthy mouth. You really are a player… to think I ever trusted and loved you," Hermione spat, and turned around, leaving a smiling Pansy and a heartbroken Draco behind.

**Boring chappie, I know! I'm sorry… I tried . … I hope this chapter wasn't going as fast as the previous chapters did.. I really am trying! Please review; tell me what you think about this chapter, and whether I should keep on writing this way, or go faster or slower… that's all. Thank you!**


	5. Just Friends

"Calm down, Hermione," Ginny said, still hugging Hermione. She had stayed in that position for almost 15 minutes now, and her back was seriously aching. Hermione had been in the common room all morning that Sunday, crying and wailing for the past 3 hours. Everytime she was just about to stop, she'd remember something that was somehow related to Draco, and start all over again.

"I should have known! I really should have!" Hermione bawled. "Malfoy fooled me, he tricked me and played me! I feel so humiliated… I was probably acting all desperate and clingy.. I caused him so many problems too! His friends kicked him out of his club, and I ruined his match… probably that's why he decided to kiss Pansy… for revenge!"

Hermione finally pulled away from Ginny, and boy was Ginny glad. She smiled, trying to act interested, but it wasn't shocking or surprising to her. She had known since the start of their relationship that Malfoy would pull something like this and hurt Hermione.

"Don't worry, Mione. There are so many cute, single boys in this school who are dying to date you," Ginny assured her.

"I don't know…" Hermione said. "Maybe I should talk to boys other than Ron and Harry, get to know the others better… I guess I've been paying too much attention on studies and all that bull… It's time I started searching for love…"

"Yeah, I'll always support you. I think Seamus is pretty hot, by the way," Ginny added, winking.

Hermione finally laughed, after so many hours. "Shh, don't let Harry hear you," she said, grinning. She wiped her tears away and blew her nose, Ginny wincing. "Thanks, Ginny, you're the best. Malfoy is probably laughing his head off with Pansy now, but who cares? Cheating on me is his mistake." And with that, they left the common room, and headed out to the sun for some fun.

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Well, Hermione thought wrong. Pansy was probably laughing her head off, but not Draco. He, on the other hand, was just as miserable as Hermione was, feeling so guilty, he could just murder himself. Why had he been so stupid? Why didn't he act more mature about the whole thing?

He walked pass the lake, staring at the exact spot he and Hermione had spent their night at, underneath the tall tree, staring at the stars. He wished he could spend just one more night with her, lying there in total silence, feeling the heat of love in the air.

"What's up, Malfoy?" Zabini called out. Draco walked over to him and forced a smile.

"Nothing much. How 'bout you?"

"Good, good. Listen, Pansy told me about what you did. You tricked Hermione, didn't you? Just to play with her heart a little, then break it and smash it into bits. I know you, Malfoy, I know you're capable of that. Good job," Zabini congratulated. Malfoy shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets, staring at his shoes.

"Well, anyway," Zabini continued. "That little whore deserved it. She's always acting smart, trying to win the teacher's hearts. The pathetic girl needs to stop being so attention-seeking and uptight, and just let her hair loose. She's stupid anyway, definitely incapable of doing so."

Malfoy gritted his teeth, trying hard not to reach out and punch Zabini. "Whatever," he said quietly.

"Well, you're back in the club. That was cool, man, tearing her apart like that. I saw her a while ago, and she looked absolutely horrible. Not that she didn't look horrible before, with those freckles and little pimples she tries so hard to hide.. and that hair! God, Pansy looks like a goddess standing next to her… Anyway, now that you're in the SlyClub again, let's go find that little tramp and rape her or something," Zabini joked.

Malfoy looked at Zabini, not able to take any of it anymore. "If you say one more thing about Hermione, I swear I'll tear your eyes out and ruin your reputation. You'll never see the end of it, Zabini. I can do things to you. If you try to hurt her, I will ruin you. Got that?"

Zabini's shocked expression quickly turned into anger. "In that case, Malfoy, you're out of the club."

"As if I would go to such low standards," Draco hit back, turned around, and walked away. Away from his past, from whom he used to be. He was the new Draco, and Hermione would love him once again.

Days passed, and people were starting to wonder why Hermione and Draco weren't together like they used to be anymore.

Ron, Hermione and Harry were in the common room that night, lazing around and finishing up their homework before going off to bed. "We broke up," Hermione said simply, when Ron asked her why she and Draco weren't speaking to each other anymore. When Hermione bent down to pick up a quill she had dropped, he cheered and jumped around in his seat. Hermione was finally single again, and he finally had a chance with her.

"But, why?" Ron asked Hermione. "I bet Draco was being a jerk again, right?"

Hermione nodded solemnly. "What a waste of time."

"I can't believe he did that to you. If I see him, I'm going to show him whose boss, and let him know not to mess with you anymore. I'm gonna give him a hex so bad he'll have trouble finding his balls agai-.."

"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed. "Not this kind of language in front of the first years. Anyway, you don't have to do that, though I'd love for you too," she giggled.

"Well, you're free now, so good for you," Ron said. _Good for me too_, he thought happily.

"So, eye-ing anyone now?" he continued.

"Not really. I'm thinking of keeping myself open for a while," Hermione replied.

Ron let out a woot in his mind and decided it was time for him to take his next shot.

"Erm.. well… Valentine's Day is coming up in a few weeks.. I'm probably asking this a little too early, but, would you like to go out with me then?" Ron asked, holding in his breath.

Hermione hesitated, and then grinned widely. "I'd love to, Ron. Now if you would excuse me, I think I'll go to bed now."

"Sure, sure, anything for you, my lady," Ron joked, grinning toothily. When Hermione had gone off to her dorm, Ron caught Harry's eye and grinned.

"Don't start chuckling again, Harry," Ron warned.

Harry chuckled, and looked at Ron. "So, all excited eh?"

"Yeah! She's the best, Harry. I think its fate. We're just meant to be together," Ron said. "And I told you to stop chuckling," he added.

Harry yawned and put his parchment away. "Good luck with hitting on her," he said, and walked off to the dorm.

"I don't need good luck," Ron called out, smiling so much it was hurting his face. "I've already got it."

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Draco hurried pass the hallways, searching for Hermione, with a practiced apology. Finally, he spotted her alone, reading a book while walking, probably on her way to class. He called out her name, but she didn't look up to see who it was. She just kept on walking, so he ran up to her and stopped her in her tracks, panting.

"Hermione… I… want… to…. tell you… that I'm…. sorry……" Draco panted.

Hermione let out a cold laugh. "So now what, I'm supposed to forgive you?"

"If you must know, I left the SlyClub, eventhough Zabini let me in again. He was saying horrible things about you, so I told him I couldn't tolerate a friend like him anymore," Draco said.

Hermione laughed again, saying nothing, and continued to walk, reading her book.

"Hermione, c'mon. I really didn't mean to kiss Pansy. I was just so upset; I wasn't thinking, I-.." Draco tried to explain.

"What makes you think all of this will make me forgive you, Malfoy? The whole thing was a mistake. We rushed into things, we fell in love too fast. I made a mistake, Malfoy, and you did too. The only way to correct it is to undo it, and I've undone it," Hermione said.

"Hermione.. you don't understand. It _wasn't_ a mistake! I love you, Hermione, and I always will. Kissing Pansy meant nothing to me. I felt nothing for her, and I never will. Well, not anymore. We didn't rush into anything, Mione! Please baby, I need you in my life…"

"Well, I don't need you," Hermione spat, feeling guilty as she noticed Draco's eyes fill with so much hurt.

"So that's it then?" Draco said, trying not to let his tears fall. He couldn't let anyone see him cry, not after all his macho-man talk.

"Yeah, that's it. Goodbye, Draco," Hermione said, and walked off, leaving Draco devastated.

_I can't believe it_, Draco thought. _She's really… gone._

"YOU!" Ron yelled from across the room. Draco let out a huge sigh and hung his head.

"Not now, Weasley," Draco muttered.

"How dare you hurt Hermione! Of all people to trick and to hurt, it had to be the sweetest, kindest, most beautiful girl in the whole school," Ron yelled at him. "Can't you see how great she is? How could you try to ruin someone so perfect?"

"Yes, I can see how great she is. That's why I fell in love with her, you idiot. I'm not in the mood now Weasley, so get out of my sight," Draco snapped.

"No! I won't! Fight me, Malfoy, show me what you've got," Ron challenged, pulling out his wand. Draco was tempted to take his wand out and just hex the stupid boy, but he wasn't in the mood for hexing people. In fact, he wasn't in the mood for anything except commiting suicide.

"Fight me!" Ron yelled again.

"Ron… stop it," Malfoy said slowly.

_Wow, if he used my first name, then he must be serious_, Ron thought, and decided to let him go.

"We'll meet again, Malfoy. You're lucky I let you go! Walk away now yea, walk away!" Ron called after Draco as he dragged himself towards the Astronomy Tower.

"What an idiot," Draco said under his breath. Nobody could say it better.

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Valentine's Day came, and Ron spent an hour dressing and tidying himself up for his big date. He walked out to the Entrance Hall and waited for Hermione. Moments later she came out looking like she always does. It probably took her 10 minutes to get ready, yet she still looked better than Ron. She made a bee line for Ron, and when she spotted him, she waved and walked over to him.

"Hey, Ron. Ready to go?" she said, smiling.

"Definitely," Ron grinned back.

When they arrived in Hogsmeade, Ron and Hermione followed Harry and Ginny to a different restaurant, called the Love Shack. When they arrived, they sat at a four-seated table and ordered their food.

"Oh, how fun it is to double date!" Ginny commented.

Harry grinned at Ginny, and they leaned over and started kissing each other all over. Things started to get heated up and they added hands to their kissing, Ron and Hermione watching with their jaws hanging open.

"Boy, it's getting hot in here," Ron commented, feeling uneasy. He considered leaning over and kissing Hermione too, but decided not to, since he had tried to hold her hand the last time and she already got touchy about that.

"So, um… How are you? Never really got a chance to talk to you for quite some time," Ron said, trying to start small chat. The truth was, Hermione had been hiding out in the Gryffindor common room the past few days, afraid to bump into Draco. The last time they spoke to each other, she had taken it quite well, hitting back and hurting Draco as much as possible, although she felt guilty about it afterwards. She still refused to go downstairs and eat no matter how many times Ginny persuaded her, so for the past few days, Ginny had to bring up leftovers to the common room for Hermione after every meal.

"Uh.. I've been busy… what with the trial exam coming in early April," Hermione replied.

"Oh, don't be so uptight about the exams. NEWTS will be a piece of cake," Ron said simply.

"Do you even know what NEWTS stands for? Gosh, you must be joking, Ron!" Hermione exclaimed. They were interrupted by the sound of smacking lips. They turned to look at Harry and Ginny, who were still making out.

"Would you two cut it out!" Ron snapped. Harry and Ginny pulled away, blushing, the food arriving just in time. They ate in silence, until Ron finally spoke up.

"Well, the food is good here," he said lamely. He turned to look at Hermione and grinned at her, showing his teeth. Hermione started to giggle when she saw spaghetti sauce and bits of tomatoes stuck in his teeth. There was also a smudge of sauce on his cheek, so she reached over to wipe it off.

"Oh c'mon, why didn't you just lick it off?" Harry teased. The group made grossed sounds and got back to their food, the tight air loosening. They finished up their food and left the Love Shack. Unfortunately, the rain began to pour heavily, and they had nowhere to go.

"Let's run in the rain!" Ginny yelled, pulling Harry along with her. They skipped around, tasting the rain water and laughing. _It's so amazing to be with friends_, Hermione thought, looking at Ron. _Just… friends._

"You're beautiful," Ron said, looking at Hermione. She stared at him, not knowing what to reply. Ron laughed, thinking it was because she was shy, and said, "Just say thank you."

Hermione smiled and said thanks, and they continued to play around, but her mind kept going back to the night Draco told her she was beautiful. When Ron said it, it meant nothing to her, but when Draco had said it, it meant the world… like no one else could have been more beautiful than she was.

"What's the matter?" Ginny asked, looking concerned.

"Nothing... I was just thinking about how great it is to be with you guys.. and how lucky I am," Hermione said, forcing a smile.

Yeah, how lucky.

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That night in the common room, Hermione was talking to some first years. She noticed Seamus and Dean sitting at a corner, talking. Dean got up and headed for the loo, leaving Seamus sitting alone. Hermione decided that it was time she got herself more known among the boys, so she walked up to him.

"Hey, Seamus," Hermione said, smiling. He looked up, surprised that she was talking to him, and smiled back. "How are you, Hermione?"

She giggled and began to chat happily with him. It seemed to be pretty easy so far. Why did she have to worry? She was already winning points with Seamus, and soon, after getting to know all the boys well, she could find someone worth her time… and that didn't include Draco Malfoy.

"What an amazing day!" Ron said happily. "I feel so… in love."

He was sitting by the fireplace with Harry, resting after that tiring but fun day.

"Yeah.. she looked like she was having a great time with you, Ron," Harry chimed in. "She's probably considering you."

"You think so?" Ron blushed. "Well, I hope."

"Yeah, go for it. I totally support you. But think about it… Hermione has been your best girl friend for what, 7 years? What if things don't go out well and you guys are just meant to be friends?" Harry said.

"No, we're definitely not meant to be friends," Ron said confidently. "Definitely."

"Okay, then. Well, I think she's quite interested in you, Ron. She seemed that way… Maybe you have a chance," Harry said.

Just as Harry said that, Ron heard someone laughing loudly… A familiar laugh. He turned to see who it was, and to his surprise, he saw Hermione sitting beside Seamus, laughing, and touching each other like they were close friends or maybe even more.

"Or maybe not."

**Hey readers! Hey, I was thinking, should I make my chapters longer? Because maybe it sounds like I'm rushing coz my chapters are all so short and stuff.. Ya think I should lengthen it or what? Review me! )**


	6. The Letter

"Draco," someone called out.

Draco turned around to see who had called him, and saw Hermione running up to him, the sweetest smile he had ever seen painted on her beautiful face. He grinned as she hugged him, and held her in his arms.

"Let's never fight again," Hermione said. She snuggled closer to hear his heart beat, giggling.

"Yeah. I've missed you," Draco said, closing his eyes. When he opened them, he saw a garden of flowers surrounding Hermione and him, the sun shining brightly above them, doves chirping, sparrows twittering, leaves rustling… everything was so perfect.

"I love you, Hermione," Draco whispered. Suddenly, the atmosphere around him grew cold, the flowers and leaves wilted and died in a second, clouds covered the rain, and the birds fell on the ground, dead.

"You!" Hermione yelled, pushing away from him. "I'll never love you, never!" Her eyes were fire red, a wild look on her face, burning with anger.

"But Hermione, I thought-.." Draco started, but Hermione turned and ran away into the darkness, never to return to him.

And that's when he woke up.

Draco shot up from his bed, breathing heavily, sweat dripping down near his ear. He covered his face with his hands and tried to shake off the nightmare. He had been having the same dream over and over again for the past few days, each one of the nightmares ending with Hermione turning around and leaving him in the darkness.

Draco looked around him, and saw that all his roommates were still asleep. He figured it must've still been early in the morning, but he was too afraid to go back to sleep. He got out of bed and tiptoed his way out, heading for the kitchen to grab a snack. He ran down the hallway leading to the kitchen, tickled the little pear in the painting like Hermione had thought him before they broke up, and walked in.

He called out for a house elf, and one came running to him, eyes half open. "Yes, sir?" the house elf said, irritated.

"Just get me some leftovers from the last meal," Draco mumbled. The house elf rolled his eyes and packed up the food quickly, eager to resume in slumber, tossed the bag of food at Draco, and ushered him out.

Draco made his way back to the Slytherin common room, walking slowly to waste time, as he was to wait till the sun rose, which would be in quite a number of hours. On his way up the stairs, he heard someone coming down, and panicked.

Draco turned back quickly and hid in the shadows, afraid it was one of the school teachers or stupid Filch and his cat. But when he saw the shadow figure of the person walking down the stairs, he noticed that the size of the figure was small and fit for a young body, and realized it was probably a student of Hogwarts. He let out a sigh, relieved, and came out of the shadows, revealing himself.

"YOU!" the two students of Hogwarts yelled at the same time, and then hushed each other.

"What are you doing walking around at this time of the night, Weasley?" Draco whispered hoarsely.

"I couldn't sleep. I felt a little hungry, so I came down to grab a bite from the kitchen. What about you, Malfoy? Up to no good again?" Ron hissed.

"Are you blind or just stupid, Weasley? Either way, you still suck. I got hungry too, look," Draco said, and lifted his hand to show the little bag of food. "I took all that was left, so I guess you're gonna have to share it with me then."

Ron was about to comment on how he would never share food with a Slytherin arse, but he felt his stomach grumble against it and gave in.

"Let's go to my common room. Slytherins are pigs; they wouldn't wake up to any sound. I'm sure you amazingly hardworking Gryffindors would crowd in your common room at this time to do future homework, eh?" Draco said sarcastically. Ron didn't answer, and followed Draco in silence.

"Notlef Mot," Draco muttered to the painting on the wall. "It's German," he told Ron. They entered the room and took a seat on the couch, and Ron let out a soft gasp.

"Your couch is so comfortable compared to Gryffindor's! It wasn't so nice before! I still remember the last time I was here when me and Harry turned into Crabbe and Goyle to eavesdrop-.." Ron started, recalling the second year of Hogwarts when they turned into Crabbe and Goyle to spy on Malfoy.

Draco's eyes turned wide and he stared at Ron. "Excuse me!"

"Uh, sorry, I remembered, it was just a dream," Ron quickly covered up.

"Well anyway, yes, it's a new couch. My father sponsored it," Draco said, wondering why they were talking about couches.

Draco laid out the leftovers on the table and they began to feast.

"So, why couldn't you sleep, Malfoy?" Ron asked, attacking a chicken wing.

"I uh, woke up from a nightmare… dreamt about someone.. Uh, I forgot. What about you, Weasley?" Malfoy said.

"Well, I had my mind on uh, someone too… and I just didn't feel tired," Ron answered. It took Draco less than a second to figure out that they were both thinking and longing for the same girl.

"I bet it was Hermione," Ron muttered. "She was the one you dreamt of."

"What makes you so certain?" Draco countered.

"I may act dumb all the time, but I do have the brains for some things. And I know who you were dreaming of," Ron said confidently.

"I know who you were thinking of too," Draco said.

"Why did you cheat on her with Pansy, Malfoy?" Ron asked. "I want to know the truth."

Malfoy sighed. Nobody believed him, and he had a feeling that maybe if he told Ron why, Ron would be able to help him fix things with Hermione.

"We fought, and I got angry at her… so I was walking in the hallway when Pansy seduced me… then she just leaned over to kiss me and I don't know, I was too upset and didn't bother to pull away," Malfoy said sadly. "I wish Hermione had never seen us… and I wish I had pulled away from Pansy."

"Well, too late for that. It's still counted as cheating on her, because you let Pansy take over you. You have no idea how much you hurt Hermione, Malfoy. It's amazing that she's coping with it so well, better than I expected," Ron said.

"I DO know how Hermione feels like! I just want her to forgive me," Malfoy said softly. "You don't understand, Weasley. I love her."

"Well… I love her too."

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"And that's how you can tell if a person is ready to love or not," Professor Trelawney explained. Hermione looked at the time. Another 15 minutes and she would be able to escape Trelawney's torturing.

Hermione glanced at Ron and saw him yawn for the 10th time that morning. She knew Trelawney was absolutely boring, but she had never seen him yawn that many times during class. She leaned over and asked him why he was feeling so tired.

"Didn't get enough sleep," Ron replied slowly, eyes half open.

"What were you doing up all night?" Hermione asked, suspicious.

"Finishing up last minute homework again, that's all," Ron lied.

"I do not tolerate chatting in my classroom. Is there anything you would like to share with us, Ron? And you, Hermione, my least favourite student. One more word and I'll let Filch check up on you two," Professor Trelawney snapped.

"Who ate her arse today?" Ron muttered under his breath.

After class, Hermione, Ron and Harry headed for Transifguration.

"You guys go ahead. I'm gonna go meet up with Ginny for a second," Harry said, turning around and walking away.

"So, Hermione… I don't mean to bring this up and spoil your mood, but are you still pissed at what Malfoy did?" Ron tried.

Hermione gaped at Ron. "Are you kidding me? Of course I am!"

"But Hermione," Ron said again. "It was sort of a long time ago… and I don't think Malfoy mean it. Maybe Pansy kissed him first, or probably forced him to, who knows? He may be innocent, and you're just mistreating him for no reason."

"What has gotten into you, Ron? You're crazy!" Hermione exclaimed. "Since when were you Malfoy's best friend?"

"I'm just saying-.."

"If you were dating let's say, me, and you found me kissing Harry, how would you feel, hmm? Happy for me? Please Ron. Get some seeds, plant it in your head, water it daily and hopefully you'll grow a brain," Hermione snapped.

Just then, Harry ran up to them. "Hey, I'm back. What were you two talking about?"

Ron and Hermione blushed, looking away.

"Guess it was private," Harry said, giving them a knowing look, and they continued to walk.

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Early morning the next day, everyone gathered at the great hall for breakfast as usual. A short while later, the owls started flying in and dropped of the mail to the recipients. Malfoy barely ever got any mail, but today, a small rolled up piece of parchment arrived for him, tied neatly with a dark green ribbon. Malfoy recognized the initial M on the parchment, and kept in his robes.

"Oh, come on Malfoy, open it," Zabini said.

"I'm lazy, I'll open it later."

"Who cares about some silly letter. Want to play a little game with me, Malfoy?" Pansy said in a sickening, trying-to-be-sweet-but-failing voice. She sat on Draco's lap and played with his hair.

At the table beside them sat Hermione, Harry, Ron and Ginny.

"Hermione, there's something on your hair, let me help you take it out," Ginny said. "Turn your head."

Hermione turned her head and so happened to be looking in Pansy's direction. Pansy caught her eye and smirked, moved closer to Draco and stuck her tongue out at Hermione, as if to say, "I know you wish it was you."

Hermione turned her head back and looked down at her food. "I'm not hungry anymore. If any of you need me, I'll be in the common room," she said, getting up.

"But Hermione, I didn't get that thing out of your hair yet," Ginny said softly.

"Doesn't matter. I could live with it being on my hair just now without my knowledge, so I can live with it being on my hair now."

Pansy laughed. "Look Draco, Frizzy's jealous."

Draco turned around and saw Hermione storming out of the great hall, tears streaming down her cheeks. He threw Pansy off him, got up, and chased after Hermione. He saw her turning to a corner, but by then it was too late. He made his way to the common room and decided to open his letter then.

Draco knew who had sent the letter, and wondered why he would want to inform Draco about something right now, in the middle of the year.

He sat on the couch and slowly untied the beautiful green ribbon, eager yet worried to find out the contents this letter held. He pulled out the parchment and straightened it, and began to read it.

_Son,_

_There has been a slight change of plans. You are to leave school and move back home. There is something very important in which you must attend. I will pick you up on Saturday night at midnight. I have already informed Dumbledore about this, so do not worry. Do not be late, or you will suffer the consequences._

_Your father,_

_Lucius Malfoy._

"Suffer the consequences?" Malfoy thought aloud. He tossed the letter aside and lied down on the couch. He couldn't process what he had just read. He was moving back home? What about school? What about his friends? What about Hermione?

He knew he had to listen to his father. He wouldn't take no for an answer. Draco sighed and covered his face with his hands. Why did this have to happen to him?

He wondered how he would be able to break it to everyone. Will they miss him or will they not even notice he was gone?

But what Draco really wanted to know was what was so important that his father had wanted him to attend? A wedding? No way. A funeral? He hoped not.

Or could it be… nah. He was sure his father didn't want him to become a death eater. Not now, that is. Draco was still so young.

…Right?

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Hermione hurried down the corridors, rushing to the Gryffindor common room. It was late at night, and she had accidentally dozed off in the library. She didn't like walking in the dark so late at night, so she lit her wand and ran like the wind.

Suddenly, she hit something, and stopped in her tracks. She pointed her wand at the object before her, and saw none other than Pansy Parkinson standing before her.

"Granger," Pansy smirked.

"Parkinson," Hermione said back, gritting her teeth.

"How are you and Malfoy?" Pansy asked, a wide smile on her face.

"I have no time for small talk, Parkinson. Leave me alone," Hermione muttered, walking off.

"You know he loves me," Pansy called after her. "I'm so much better than you, Granger. Isn't that why he chose me over you?"

Hermione ran even faster, trying not to cry. She had no time for this, and no time to start feeling sorry for herself again. She ran up the stairs and accidentally hit her foot on the age of the steps, tripping. And that's when someone caught her.

Hermione looked up at the person who caught her, and realized she was staring into the most beautiful gray eyes she had ever seen. They were so familiar, so welcoming, so pure like water, she could just drown in them. Then she realized it was none other than Draco, her ex-boyfriend and sworn enemy.

"Thanks," Hermione muttered, and continued her way up the steps.

"Hermione, wait," Draco said. Hermione continued to walk up as if she had only heard the wind breeze past her ear.

"Mione, there's something important I have to tell you," Draco tried again, but Hermione quickened her pace.

"Hermione, I'm leaving this school!" Draco exclaimed sadly. Hermione finally stopped and turned around to face Draco.

"For good."

**Woo, I'm sleepy. It's like, 3a.m here. Sorry I rushed through it again, and sorry it isn't any longer than my previous chapters… Anyway, please review yea! Oh, and up there, that little German thing Malfoy said to open the door to the Slytherin common room? Yeah, read it backwards )**


	7. Hurts To Be Alone

**Thanks for all the reviews… You guys are real nice! **

"But… why?"

"It's complicated, Hermione…"

"Will you be back?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know," Draco said. "I really don't know…"

Hermione leaned on his shoulder as they sat by the staircase. Draco pushed back her hair and wiped her tears away, kissing her forehead.

"I love you, Hermione… you never gave me a chance to explain," Draco said sadly.

"I was hurt, Draco… but I never stopped loving you, no matter how hard I tried…" Hermione said, struggling to stop crying. "I thought we could just fight for a while and then maybe see how it goes later in the future… but now, the future no longer exists."

"Don't say that," Draco whispered, closing his eyes. "I'll come back for you… I swear."

On Saturday night, Draco packed his stuff while Hermione watched. She refused to help him pack and just sat there, tears streaming down her eyes like a leaking faucet. She made several attempts to unpack Draco's things with her wand, but she stopped when she knew this was a losing situation. Draco had to go, and there was nothing she could do about it.

"We're from two different worlds," Draco whispered to Hermione. "My love isn't enough for you."

"No, Draco, your love is all I'll ever need. You can't leave!" Hermione pleaded, tugging his arm.

"Go," he ordered Hermione out.

Hermione looked at Draco, hurt mixing with the salty tears from her eyes. She looked away and walked out of the room, afraid that if she looked back at him, she wouldn't be able to live.

Draco sighed and took his stuff down to Dumbledore's office. He waited patiently for Dumbledore to come out, and soon enough, the gargoyle by his office stepped aside, and the door opened revealing an old, wise looking man.

"Ready?" Dumbledore said. Draco nodded solemnly and they walked out of the school, heading for the Forbidden Forest. They strolled into the depths of the woods until Dumbledore told Draco to stop, and they waited.

The forest was misty, mixed with an eerie silence, giving Draco a chill down his spine. He shivered and rubbed his arms as the cold breeze passed him, as if he was surrounded by evil.

Someone seemed to be walking out of the mist, and Draco assumed it was his father. Sure enough, Lucius Malfoy appeared and stood in front of Draco and Dumbledore, a cool look on his face.

"Albus," Lucius greeted.

"Ah, Lucius! How wonderful to see you," Dumbledore greeted politely. He gave Draco a slight pat on the back, and Draco walked towards his father.

"Dad," Draco said quietly.

"Draco," Lucius nodded.

"Well, thank you for understanding, Albus. We're on a tight schedule, so we'll be leaving now," Lucius said. He took out his wand and lifted Draco's luggage, tying it to the back of his broomstick.

"Very well then. Goodbye, Draco. Save trip home," Dumbledore said with a smile, but Draco noticed a flinch of sadness in his eyes. Dumbledore knew something he didn't, and he wanted to know why he had to leave school… and Hermione.

Draco decided that he wouldn't be getting his answer now, so he followed behind his father, obediently got on his broomstick, and they were off.

Draco turned around and saw Dumbledore waving at him, the same sad eyes, and looked up at Hogwarts, tears falling down his cheeks. The beautiful castle with a hundred windows, balconies, secret passageways before him, as enchanting as ever in the dark night. The best school of magic ever, where his life really mattered. And from a distance, he saw a girl he recognized as Hermione running out of the school in tears, watching him and his father fly away, leaving her behind.

"I love you," he whispered to Hermione, although he knew she couldn't hear him. But somehow she felt him whisper those words in her heart, and she looked up at the little speck disappearing into dark sky, wiping her tears away.

"I love you… too."

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"Hey, Hermione. You look awful! What happened to you?" Ron asked her on Sunday morning. Hermione looked like a zombie with saggy eyes, her hair messier than ever, acting as if she had just spent the night in a black hole.

"I'm not in the mood to answer that question," Hermione snapped, and sat down beside him. They were chilling out by the lake, Ron still nibbling at a piece of toast from breakfast. Harry and Ginny were resting under a tree nearby, sitting there and staring at each other, saying nothing as usual. Harry called it 'speechless love', but Ron called it 'wasting time'.

"Look at those two idiots staring at each other again, grinning like fools. Can't they say anything?" Ron muttered. Hermione wasn't listening though. She was busy wondering how happy Harry and Ginny must be… they didn't know how it felt like to lose someone they love… they had each other, and they were happy… but her? Her love just flew off to his mansion with his lunatic father for God knows what reason, and she was stuck listening to Ron criticize the two lovebirds under the tree, and she looked like a freaking horse who looked like she had been forced to sleep in a basket full of Snape's unwashed underwear. Why did she even bother living!

Seamus walked towards Hermione and Ron, a big smile on his face.

"Hi, Hermione," Seamus blushed. Hermione didn't even bother to look at him. She continued to stare at nothing in front of her, wondering why life had to be so horrible for her.

"Um.. Hermione?" Seamus tried again.

"What? Huh? Oh! Sorry Seamus, I'm kinda busy now… talk to you later," Hermione said quickly. Seamus looked at her for awhile, looking hurt and angry.

"That's the third time you've pushed me away so far. You were so nice and friendly to me a few days ago, what went wrong? I guess that Hermione that day wasn't the real you. I knew it was odd, the way you just got up and said hello to me all of a sudden. You're a faker, Granger," Seamus spat.

"Hey, don't you dare talk to Hermione like that! She's got a huge problem now that she's trying to deal with, can't you see?" Ron yelled at Seamus.

"Yeah… I'm sorry, Seamus, I just wanted to get to know you better. And I still do, honestly. I'm just going through a rough time now…" Hermione said softly.

"Oh," Seamus blushed. "I'm so sorry for losing my temper that way… I want to get to know you better too, Hermione." Hermione turned red and looked away, making Seamus laugh.

"Stop flirting Seamus and get lost," Ron snapped, jealousy heating through him. Seamus rolled his eyes at Ron and walked off, waving at Hermione.

"What a suck up!" Ron commented. Hermione paid no attention, showing the same blank face she had worn since she woke up.

"Where's that Malfoy, anyway? Haven't seen him all day…" Ron said, trying to make small talk with Hermione.

She got up all of a sudden and stormed off, startling Ron.

"Hermione… what's wrong?" Ron said, but she didn't bother turning around to answer him.

Hermione ran into the school and headed for the girl's bathroom. She turned the faucet on and splashed water on her face, trying to clear her thoughts. She tried to hold back her tears, but it was no good. She let herself fall to the ground and leaned against the dirty wall, bawling. She was worried for Draco. Lucius was an evil man, and he might have been planning something dangerous for Draco. What if… what if she never sees him again?

Ginny walked into the bathroom and gasped when she saw Hermione.

"Oh, Mione!" Ginny said, running to her. "Tell me what's wrong."

Hermione sniffed and looked up at Ginny with red eyes. "He's.. he's gone."

"He? Who's he?" Ginny asked, pulling Hermione up.

"Draco… he left… and I don't know if he's coming back."

Ginny looked at Hermione with sympathy and hugged her tightly.

"He'll come back if you pray hard… if you really do love him. Everything's going to be okay, Hermione. Now let's get you out of here," Ginny said, and they walked out of the bathroom. Hermione knew Ginny was doing her best to make her feel better, but nothing could make her feel happy then. Absolutely nothing.

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Draco and Lucius walked into the Malfoy Mansion and put their things down. Draco breathed in the stale smell of evil, and frowned.

"Father… something's wrong here. Smells just like death…" Draco commented.

"Shut up boy. I like the smell of death; do you have a problem with that?" Lucius snapped. Draco shook his head quickly in fear, and followed his father up the stairs, taking his luggage along with him.

He walked up the stairs in silence as his father entered his room to freshen up. Draco sensed that something was wrong and turned around, shocked to see an aging woman called his mother lying on the ground, lifeless.

"Mom!" Draco yelled, running over to her to see what had gone wrong. "Father, father! Mother's down and she's not moving! Help! Somebody, HELP!"

Suddenly he felt a strong hand force himself backwards, away from Narcissa.

"You are not to touch that bitch, you filthy dog. Do you understand me?" Lucius ordered, threatening Draco with his wand. Draco turned to look at his mother, his eyes filled with tears, and saw bruises and blood trickling from her head.

"What did you do to her, father? Did you… did you beat her?" Draco whimpered.

Lucius laughed aloud, craziness dancing in his eyes. "You stupid little boy. Don't ask me so many questions, and just unpack your things. We're leaving tomorrow night to get my job done."

"Get what job done? What are you talking about!" Draco said frightfully. He tried to stand up and run back to his mother, but Lucius pushed him back again.

"I told you not to touch her you imbecile!" Lucius shouted. Narcissa stirred from all the commotion going on, and open her eyes slightly.

"Draco…?" she whispered weakly. "Draco, honey… you're in danger.. stay aw-.."

"SHUT YOUR FILTHY LITTLE MOUTH!" Lucius yelled, losing control. He slapped Narcissa and started to kick her.

"No!" Draco pleaded. "Stop father! She's had enough!"

Lucius grinned as Narcissa coughed out blood and closed her eyes again, her head tilted to one side. Draco fell on his knees and cried as Lucius dragged his wife to a small broom closet and locked her up in it.

"I knew bringing you home was a bad idea, but we need you," Lucius muttered.

"Who? Who needs me? Answer me!" Draco yelled.

"The death eaters. So many of the Lord's followers are locked up in Azkaban. Some have died and some have decided to betray the Lord and turn to the good side. We don't have enough death eaters, son, and we need more," Lucius explained.

"So you're saying…" Draco trailed off, his worst nightmare about to come true.

"You are to become a death eater, Draco Malfoy."

**Extremely short chapter, I know. I'm sorry! Totally ran out of ideas.. getting writer's block now, and I've only done 7 chapters.. I'm such a sad case! I'm trying I'm trying… so sorry again! Please review me on what you think of this chapter.. and if any of you have any ideas, could you review me and tell me? Maybe I could use it for my next few chapters because I seriously don't know what to do here! Thanks and bye!**


	8. Early Death

**To TinkerbellPrincess92, yeah, I was rushing through the first few chapters… trying to slow down now… And about that Felton and Radcliffe thing, it was meant to be like that… I did it on purpose, just for a lil' fun. Even if I made a mistake and it was supposed to be Malfoy and Potter, it would be wrong because Malfoy and Potter are Seekers, so they shouldn't be bothering about the Quaffles flying in the air. :-) thanks for the review, though! hehe**

**So, here's the 8th Chapter. Enjoy!**

Hermione lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She woke up that morning feeling just as terrible as she did the previous day. She had been lying in that position for three whole hours so far. Two periods of lessons had gone by, but she still didn't get up. She didn't care if she failed her NEWTS. She just wanted to know if Draco was okay.

"Hermione?..." Lavender whispered, opening a small gap in the door. "Are you okay?"

"Lavender, hi... I'm fine, thanks," Hermione replied.

"Oh, please. Your hair is messed up, you have eye bags and they're all puffed up, and you have that blank look on your face like someone just died. You're obviously heartbroken," Lavender concluded expertly.

Hermione had to laugh at that. "You have a talent, Lavender."

"C'mon Hermione... You missed two lessons already and Ron and Harry had to cover up for you with lame, unconvincing excuses. Harry muttered something about you having peacock or turkey pox or something," Lavender said, a confused look on her face.

"Chicken pox," Hermione said. "Some itchy sickness muggles get, usually when they're babies," she explained.

"Genius you," Lavender complimented. "I know Malfoy's gone and all... but get over it, Hermione. Move on with your life. If he could handle leaving you, you can handle leaving him. Put him in the past, and go get someone worth it. I see you're working something with Dean. Or was it Seamus?"

Hermione blushed and got out of bed, putting on her robes. "It's Seamus. I'm not interested in him, if that's what you're thinking."

"But he's definitely interested in you," Lavender grinned. "And that Ronald too! Annoying, but sweet. See, Hermione? You have plenty of boys for you. What are you doing in bed, crying over one?"

"You're right, Lavender. Absolutely right. Let's go!" Hermione said, feeling more cheerful and more determined. They grinned and walked out of the dorm room, arm in arm. And finally, the thought of Draco was fading from Hermione's mind.

"Hermione!" Seamus called out. Hermione turned around and saw Seamus running to her. She was on her way to the great hall for lunch after lessons. "Would you uh... like to have lunch with me today?" he asked shyly.

Hermione smiled. "I'd love to." They walked in together, and took a seat quite a distance from Hermione's usual friends. Hermione felt awkward not to be sitting at her usual place with Ron and Harry, but she guessed Seamus wanted some privacy, and he certainly didn't want Ron snooping around either.

"So... have you solved that problem of yours?" Seamus asked.

"Oh yes, I think I have," Hermione replied uncertainly.

"I see... uh... cool..." Seamus said slowly, unsure of what to say.

A few tables away, Ron and Harry sat together, munching on Ron's favourite dish - chicken wings. A third year boy walked up to Harry and asked him if he could take the empty seat beside him, eager to sit beside the boy who lived.

"Uh, sorry, we're saving this seat for someone else," Harry replied, and the boy walked off sadly. "Where is Hermione anyway? Maybe we shouldn't save a seat for her… she probably isn't coming."

"I hope she's not in her room crying over Malfoy again," Ron muttered.

"Why… well actually… I just spotted her over there, sitting with Seamus," Harry said with his eyes wide open.

Ron leaned back to see the row of people and sure enough saw Hermione's bushy brown hair fluffing everywhere, with Seamus beside her, grinning. Ron turned red with jealousy and looked down at his chicken wings. He took a whole stack of them and got up.

"I'm leaving," he announced.

"So soon?" Harry said.

"Yeah. See you in Charms, Harry," Ron said, and stormed out the hall.

Hermione laughed. "Good one, Seamus."

"Yeah... still can't get over that joke. Hey look, it's Weasley. He isn't looking too good," Seamus said. Hermione turned around and saw Ron hurrying out the hall.

"Oh, God. Not again…" Hermione said, getting up. "I'm so sorry Seamus, but I have to go. I'll catch up with you later, okay? Lunch with you was great!" She ran out of the great hall, leaving Seamus muttering curses at Ron for taking Hermione away from him.

"Ron! Ron!" Hermione called out. Ron continued to walk as if he never heard her. "Ronnn!"

Ron quickened his pace, eager to stay distant from Hermione, but as a result, he dropped two of his chicken wings on the ground.

"Look what you did, Mione. You made me drop my chicken wings!" Ron scolded.

"Oh shut up, Ron," Hermione rolled her eyes, catching up with him. He picked up the chicken wings he had dropped on the ground and blew away the grass and dirt, then put it in his mouth as if nothing had happened.

"That's disgusting, Ron."

"Then don't watch me eat and get lost," he snapped.

"Ron, talk to me. What's wrong with you?" Hermione said, panting.

"You're always with that fag Seamus," Ron muttered, tearing the meat off his tenth chicken wing.

"He's not a fag. He's very nice to me alright? Unlike someone I know," Hermione said.

"Oh, so now you're saying his better than me?" Ron spat angrily.

"What is wrong with you, honestly? Why are you so angry when I'm with other boys?" Hermione said, oblivious to the reason.

"You really wanna know, Mione?" Ron said quietly.

"Yes, yes I do. Tell me why you've been treating me badly these few days, and why you get angry everytime Seamus comes around. Tell me why, Ron," Hermione pleaded.

"I never got over you," Ron said softly. "I still love you."

Hermione stared at Ron like he was crazy, ready to burst into tears again. She could hear Draco saying the exact same words, and his voice kept ringing in her ears, haunting her. She shook her head and looked away. "No… you don't."

"I do, Hermione. I really do."

"No!" Hermione shouted. "That's what everyone tells me. That's what Draco told me. And look now, he's gone. You can't love me, Ron…"

"Why not, Hermione? Why can't I?" Ron said.

"Because I'm afraid I'll lose you too."

"You won't lost me," Ron moved towards Hermione, hugging her.

"I lost Draco," Hermione pointed out.

"How does that have anything to do with me going off? I don't have a psycho dad who's planning to dominate the world. I'm not going to leave you, Hermione," Ron said certainly.

Hermione sniffed and stood up straight, moving away from Ron. "I'm sorry, Ron. My heart belongs to Draco."

"I know…" Ron said sadly. "There's nothing I can do about it, is there?"

"No, I guess not…" Hermione replied softly.

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"Stop moving, you fool," Lucius Malfoy spat at his only son. Draco was struggling from Lucius's tight grip on him. Finally Lucius let go, throwing his son on the ground.

"You useless, worthless piece of nothing. I have no idea why the Lord wants you," Lucius said as Draco struggled to stand. He looked around him and saw tombstones, shivering when he realized that he was in a graveyard.

"You must not keep the Dark Lord waiting. Move, you idiot!" Lucius pushed his son forward, and they walked towards an empty space in the very middle of the graveyard. He stopped when he saw dark figures appear out of nowhere, surround him and Lucius.

"Ahh, good to see you all again," Lucius said. Draco recognized one of the women there as Bellatrix, her face almost covered behind her black hood.

"Been having fun, Bella?" Lucius said.

"Oh yes... killed two bloody Aurors who got in my way... murder is my favourite hobby," Bellatrix grinned.

"It is a hobby to all of us," Lucius said, grinning, referring to the death eaters surrounding them. Draco looked around him, searching for a place to escape, but soon gave up hope when he realized that he couldn't get anywhere without his father coming after him. And even worse, the other death eaters might join in too and punish him for running away once they had found him.

"How's Narcissa?" Bellatrix asked.

"Fine," Lucius answered quickly, gritting his teeth. Bellatrix gave him a confused look, but decided that it was nothing important and turned around to talk to another death eater.

At the struck of midnight, the air turned cold and eerie. Everyone knelt down, and Draco followed too, confused. The wind blew stronger than ever, and the clouds above him covered up the moon and the stars, and big black crows flew in circles around the graveyard, as if performing a prepared ritual. In the middle of the circle of death eaters, a tall figure in thick maroon robes appeared before his eyes, and everyone bowed in awe, except for Draco.

"My Lord. We are pleased to have you here," Lucius said. "And I have brought my son, Draco."

"Ahh, yes," Lord Voldermort hissed, turning around to look at Draco. Draco gasped and moved a step back when he saw Voldermort's face. His was bald, his eyes deep and sunken, and he had no nose. Draco had expected Voldermort to look amazing and powerful, but he just looked distorted and out of proportion. He would've snickered if this hadn't been such a serious situation.

"What is this?" Voldermort said, as he reached out to lift Draco's chin up with his long, boney fingers. "I see fear in your eyes, boy. And... innocence."

"Lord, I-.."

"Keep quiet, Lucius. I did not ask you to speak. Now, how am I to make this boy my follower, when he does not wish to be one? This won't do, Lucius. I do not want to have followers who serve me in fear rather than loyalty."

"Lord, Draco will be loyal to you. He's only afraid of you because this is his first time seeing you, my Lord. I will make Draco the ideal death eater, I promise you," Lucius assured Voldermort.

"I trust you, Lucius. Now, shall we begin?"

The death eaters began placing candles around Draco, circling him. Draco stood in the middle of the circle of candles helplessly, knowing that this was to be permanent, affecting his future. Voldermort stepped into the circle and ordered Draco to close his eyes. A moment later, he heard Voldermort muttering a language he didn't understand. He realized it was in tongues when he heard Voldermort hissing like a snake.

Draco felt power building up in his body – strong, cold, evil power. The power rising inside him filled his mind with promises of a better life as a death eater, but Draco tried to fight it.

_Lies, it's all lies_, Draco forced himself to believe, but Voldermort's spell was too powerful, taking over him and filling his body with pleasure. Draco eased down and relaxed, feeling a million times stronger than he had felt before as a normal boy. He heard someone whisper in his ear, telling him that evil was the best thing he could ever have. Draco breathed in the air around him, and it smelt nothing like death anymore. Everything was perfect in the world to him at that moment.

"Give me your hand, boy," Voldermort ordered, and Draco stuck his hand out obediently, amazed that the great Lord Voldermort was about to touch his hand. Voldermort pointed his wand at Draco's arm, somewhere below his shoulder, and imprinted the dark mark on his skin. Draco yelped in pain, but it was quickly covered up by pleasurable evil. Voldermort grinned and put his wand back in his robes, stepping back.

"Now you are a death eater, son," Lucius said proudly.

"The boy will need some getting used to, though," Voldermort said, dusting his hands. "Crabbe, Goyle, I would like you two to bring your sons to me too, by tomorrow. Now, I have better things to do than stand here and chat with all of you." And with that, Voldermort disappeared, leaving behind a stale, black magic stench.

"NO!" Draco yelled, snapping back to reality. The delicious power of evil faded, leaving him with pain and guilt. He felt dirty, weak, and tricked. Draco stared at the dark mark which was still burning his skin, feeling as if life had been sucked out from him.

"Look what you did, father!" Draco yelled angrily. "You've ruined me!"

"Do not talk to me like that, Draco. Being a death eater is what many people dream of becoming," Lucius said. The other death eaters knew this was going to be a father-son talk, so they disappeared too, leaving Lucius and Draco alone.

"Well I'm not one of them. I don't want to cause chaos and murder the innocent, serving You-Know-Who. I will not serve anyone!" Draco yelled.

"You are not to talk about the Dark Lord like that! This is the new you, Draco, whether you like it or not," Lucius said, ending the conversation. Draco gave in, accepting his curse. He knew that no matter how much he hated being a death eater, he still wouldn't be able to go back to who he was before. But the only thing that was really worrying him was how Hermione would ever love him now.

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Hermione opened her eyes, panting heavily. Sweat was dripping from her forehead, and she realized she had been crying.

"What's wrong, Mione? Lavender said softly, rubbing her eyes. "It's still early; go back to sleep."

"I just had a… a bad dream," Hermione whispered, still panting.

Lavender made a small squeak and fell asleep again.

_It can't be_, Hermione thought. _It was just a dream, wasn't it?_

_He can't be a… death eater…_

**Kay. Review me, people! Please give me ideas too on what to write for the next few chapters. I got some in my head, but I'm wondering if any of you got better stuff. Review review review! Even if you have nothing to tell me, review me anyway! XD**

**Sorry, I'm desperate for reviews 'cause it's nice watching the number go up up up!**


	9. Home Sweet Home

**Hey, I'm back! Actually I was back earlier, but I fell sick so I didn't have time to write. I'm better now, so here you go. Enjoy! )**

"I saw this graveyard, see, and Voldermort was there," Hermione explained to Ron and Harry. They were relaxing in the common room the night after Hermione's nightmare. Harry reached out and carefully examined Hermione's forehead.

"What on earth are you doing, Harry?"

"Graveyard… Voldermort… I'm just checking for a scar on your forehead. Something similar to mine maybe?" Harry said.

"No time for lame jokes. Something's happened to Draco. I think he's a…" Hermione trailed off sadly.

"A death eater? No surprise," Ron said calmly. "His father is one; obviously he would want his only son to take his place once he was gone."

Hermione sighed and played with her fingers. "Draco isn't coming back, is he?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't know Hermione… most probably not. But you can't be certain unless you've heard from him. Have you tried sending him a letter?"

"No, of course not. His father might read it," Hermione replied. "Or maybe Lucius wouldn't mind? I have the letter with me now. Take a look at it, and let me know if it'll cross his line." Hermione dug into her robe pocket and took out a neatly folded parchment, handing it to Harry. Harry read it, stifling a chuckle, and passed it to Ron who almost fell out of his chair.

"_You're so sweet like the sugar in candy_!" Ron exclaimed, reciting the letter. "_It's been rather hot these few days. I miss you like I miss the rain_!" Ron stomped his feet, his face scrunched and red from all the laughter. "You can't give this to him, even if Lucius doesn't see it."

Hermione snatched the letter away, blushing. "Why not? I was expressing my feelings."

"No, you were just being stupid," Ron muttered. Hermione reached out to smack him on his head but he ducked. Harry watched as his two best friends started hitting each other childishly, rolling on the floor. "I'm gonna go find Ginny," he said quickly, and hurried out of the room, leaving the two idiots behind, pulling each other's hair.

"Stop! Stop!" Hermione said, laughing. They lay on the ground side by side, breathing heavily. It had been a long while since they had laughed together like that, and it felt pretty good. A moment later, she realized how close they were to each other and moved away, feeling uneasy. It was weird lying next to him as if nothing had happened, after all they'd been through.

"Uh, right. So…" Ron said quietly, getting up.

"So… yea," Hermione shifted in her seat uncomfortably. "I'll just head out for some fresh air." She got up and rushed out the room, leaving Ron sitting there alone.

Ron sighed and closed his eyes. _You're never gonna get over her, are you?_ Ron said to himself.

Nope, guess not.

Hermione ran out of the school and ran across the field, down the chipped stone steps, and stopped in front of the Whomping Willow. She eased down on the grass a good distance away from the murderous tree, and let her thoughts run free.

_What happened in there?_ She thought. _Does Ron still fancy me? Do I still fancy him!_ She tugged at a long grass which had been poking her leg annoyingly. _What if I do? Or what if I don't…_

"Gosh, this is so confusing!" Hermione grumbled out loud. The Whomping Willow's few leaves swayed in the wind, calmly moving as if life was perfect. "Yea, you have nothing to worry about. Life is perfect for you, isn't it? All you have to do is swing your stupid branches and whack anyone who comes in your way."

The old tree danced around as though it was answering Hermione a _hell yea_.

"Second sign of madness. Talking to an evil tree," a voice behind her said. Hermione turned around and grinned at the boy before her.

"What's the first sign?" she said to Ron.

"That would be talking to yourself, which I'm sure you've already done before starting a conversation with that stupid tree," Ron said. Hermione patted on the grass beside her, inviting him to take a seat.

"I left you for 5 minutes. You really can't live without me, can you?" Hermione joked.

"No, I don't think I can," Ron answered sadly, a serious look on his face. He looked right at Hermione, but she blushed and quickly looked away. She busied herself by tugging on the grass again, and acted like she hadn't heard what Ron said.

"Draco's not coming back, Hermione. Give it up," Ron said.

"How sure are you?" Hermione countered. "He's coming back, okay? He's coming back for me."

"Oh yeah? He hasn't even bothered to send you a letter," he pointed out. "Seems like he doesn't care about you. If I were him, I would send you letters and roses and chocolate frogs every single day, even every hour if you asked it of me."

"But you're not him!" Hermione raised her voice, standing up. "You're just jealous of us." Hermione regretted stating that last sentence the moment it came out of her mouth. Ron's eyes widened and his eyes were fire crazy.

"Don't flatter yourself," Ron spat, getting up as well.

"Ron, I didn't mean it… I take it back," Hermione apologized.

Ron sighed. "Don't you understand? I want you for myself!"

Hermione stared at Ron. "But I want Draco."

"No! Stop saying that! He's not here now, Hermione, I am!" Ron said. Hermione's eyes filled with sadness, but she blinked it away. "Draco has been horrible all these years. Why the sudden change of heart?" Ron asked quietly.

"Because I saw the greater side of him," Hermione whispered, tears racing down her cheeks.

"Can't you see the greater side of me as well? I may be just stupid, annoying, wacky old Ronald to many people, but there's a bigger part in me that has a lot to say. I've been saving that part for you," Ron said, feeling his heart beat fast at the thought of her.

"I can't Ron. You may be saving a part of you for me, but Draco promised the whole of him to me," Hermione whispered, and with that, she turned around and ran away, leaving Ron sitting on the grass, staring after her. He sighed, feeling like he was being crushed under a piano. He stared at the Whomping Willow as she swiped the air with her deadly thorns.

"What are you looking at?" Ron spat at the old tree. It waved its branches at him, as if to mock him.

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"Father, please! STOP!" Draco pleaded.

"Shut up, Draco. Let me do what I have to do," Lucius Malfoy snapped at his son. Draco watched helplessly once again as his father tortured his mother, Narcissa. She coughed out blood and her eyes rolled at the back of her head. Draco sat in the corner, unable to watch his mother suffer.

"You're a death eater now. Why aren't you helping me?" Lucius spat.

"Because that's my MOTHER!" Draco replied angrily. Lucius looked at Draco with fire in his eyes. "She's a useless mother. Too much _love _in her, she has. Love is what the dark lord loathes most."

"Love is what I have for her," Draco said.

"You are foolish then!" Lucius spat. He kicked Narcissa and aimed his wand at her, ready for another shot of pain. His eyes were gleaming, reflecting a crazy man who considered pain as fun.

"Stop, father! She's had enough for today," Draco pleaded. Lucius stopped and studied Narcissa carefully. "Just a little bit more," he whispered.

He aimed his wand at her and muttered, "Crucio."

Narcissa twitched, the pain too unbearable for her to scream. Her arms swung everywhere, and her eyes turned pearly white. Lucius laughed as he waved his wand left and right, Draco's poor mother being thrown all around the house, wherever the wand waved. Lucius finally stopped after what seemed like forever, and gave Narcissa another hard kick on her stomach.

"Now I am satisfied," Lucius grinned. "Clean her up. Get her ready for tomorrow's beating," he ordered Draco. Draco ran to his mother and turned her around to see if there were any major injuries.

"Draco darling," Narcissa whispered, opening her eyes slightly, weakly smiling as she looked at his grey, sad eyes. "You're not safe. Run away."

"I can't, mother. Father will be sure to find me," Draco said sadly. "I am already a death eater; I can't go back to who I once was."

"Go back to school…" Narcissa said, closing her eyes. She made a soft squeak before fainting again. Draco controlled his tears and slowly dragged her to her room, washing dirt off her face, and cleaned up bruises and cuts that would never heal, as Lucius would surely cut them open again the next day.

When Draco was done, he went downstairs and rested on his dusty sofa. _What an awful day_, he thought. He considered what his mother had told him to do, which was to go back to school and finish off his last year.

_Why did Dumbledore let me go_, he thought angrily._ He knew I was going to be a death eater… why did he allow it? _

Lucius walked down the stairs in his usual style, his nose pointed at the ceiling.

"Father," Draco stood up immediately. "I need to talk to you."

"What is it, Draco? I'm a busy man," Lucius said.

"Let me go back to Hogwarts, father," Draco said hopefully.

"Certainly not! Death eaters can't go to school. Don't be silly," Lucius shrugged him off.

"It's my last year, father. Just let me finish it off. I'll be back right after NEWTS. Please, father. It's important for me to go complete my studies. I'm sure Professor Dumbledore would prefer me to go back," Draco pointed out.

"Well… The year_ is_ going to end soon. I might as well let you go and finish it off. That'll shut you up," Lucius muttered. Draco grinned, feeling the weight on his shoulders lift. "I'll start packing," he said cheerfully, running up the stairs. He was glad to be going back to Hogwarts, back to his friends, back to his real home.

Back to Hermione.

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"Ginny, is that you?" Hermione whispered. She was hiding out in the girl's bathroom on the 3rd floor, afraid to bump into Ron. It was dinnertime, so she had asked Ginny to go down to the halls and fetch her meal for her.

"Yea, yea," Ginny said, rolling her eyes. Hermione opened the door to the stall and let out her breath. "There's a horrible stench in here. I wonder why I bother hiding out in this disgusting toilet."

"Yeah. Don't worry though, you're not alone. Almost all the girls hide out here because they're running away from boys who love them, and they always get poor innocent girls to go fetch their food, making them walk up and down as if they have nothing to do with their life," Ginny said sarcastically.

"Fine, Ginny. I'm sorry I'm treating you like a house elf. But I really don't need this right now," Hermione whined.

"Okay, okay. If you need me, I'll be at the halls, being someone else's slave 'cause that's just what I do," Ginny muttered, stomping out of the smelly bathroom. Hermione crossed sat on the ground and crossed her legs, munching on her chicken wings.

_Chicken wings_, she thought, and immediately felt guilty. _Ron._

She thought about how she had treated Ron, how she had rejected him so harshly. She suddenly didn't feel so hungry anymore, and put her plate aside. Maybe I should give him a chance, she thought. I did fancy him before, so what's the problem in fancying him now?

Hermione stared blankly at the dirty ceiling, deep in thought. _Draco isn't coming back… he never even bothered to write me a letter once he got there. Ron is caring, sweet and funny. Why not give it a try?_

"Yeah! I'll give it a try!" she said aloud.

She ran out of the bathroom and raced down the staircase to the great hall. Students turned to watch as she ran past them, and stopped right behind Ron. Ron turned around slowly with a confused look on his face, afraid that Hermione would suddenly jump at him and tear him to bits.

"I'll go out with you," she grinned at him. She waited for his response, but he merely stared at her with wide eyes. "Uh, Ron?"

"Seriously?" he finally whispered.

"Yes," Hermione said with total confidence. Ron's look of confusion switched to happiness, and he got up and hugged her.

"I knew you'd figure it out," Ron said. "I knew you'd put Malfoy in the past."

Hermione frowned at the sound of Draco's name, but when she realized that people were still staring at the dramatic scene, she smiled widely and hugged him tight. The whole Gryffindor table cheered and clapped. Some boys made gagging sounds at the thought of romance, and some girls started whispering to one another, making up rumours about the latest couple.

Hermione felt glad that she had finally made Ron happy. But the problem was, was _she _happy? _I made this decision to cut Ron some slack. No turning back_, Hermione said to herself, shaking her head.

"C'mon, sit down for dinner. Food's getting cold," Ron grinned, moving aside so Hermione would have enough space to take a seat between Harry and him.

"Listen. You wanna accompany me tonight? Just a quiet walk around the school," Ron invited.

"I'd love it," Hermione smiled brightly, digging into her food. _This is absolutely perfect_, she thought. _Just the way I want my life to be… right?_

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

"I had a great time, Hermione," Ron smiled. He and Hermione were strolling in the halls silently, holding hands.

"Um, yeah. Me too," Hermione replied, not quite looking into his eyes.

"What made you change your mind about us, anyway?" Ron asked.

"Um.. I don't know. I just snapped out of my funk and decided to start being more open and take chances," Hermione replied. Ron grinned at her and played with her fingers.

"We'd better get going. Filch and his ugly furball or probably wandering around in another floor right now," he said.

"So I guess that's good night, then," he said when Hermione didn't reply him. He leaned over to kiss Hermione, but she pulled away.

"What's wrong?" Ron said, starting to get angry again.

"Nothing. It's just…" Hermione started.

"Just what, Hermione?" Ron said, raising his voice.

"Forget it… I'm sorry. Let's try again," Hermione leaned closer to Ron and closed her eyes. Ron softened and leaned forward, puckering his lips slightly to kiss her. Hermione waited till she felt his lips on hers, brushing hers gently.

_Well, it isn't so bad_, Hermione thought. Hermione suddenly felt Ron's lips parting, and something slimy and wet that felt like an eel went into her mouth, sticking into her throat. I take that back. But she realized how Ron would have felt if he found out that she was practically vomiting, and felt guilty again. She decided to let Ron do whatever he wanted to, and be nice to him for once.

They stood there in the entrance hall, Ron kissing her passionately, and Hermione making an effort to kiss back. Just as she started to get used to Ron's tongue going in an out her mouth, Hogwart's main door opened.

There stood a tall, slender boy, dripping wet from the thunderstorm outside. He was soaked and troubled, but he looked absolutely happy. Until he realized who the two people kissing in front of him were, the rain water washing away his grin.

"Oh. My. God," Hermione, Ron and Draco said at the same time, staring at each other blankly.

"Draco!" Hermione exclaimed, staring at the wet boy before her.

_He's back._

**Hey! Sorry I couldn't make it longer. The ending keeps throwing itself at me so I hafta end it quick. REVIEW OKAY! And is that how you spell Whomping Willow? I kinda forgot and I was lazy to go check it out. XD review review review!**


	10. What Could Never Be

**Heyhey, here's the 10th chappie!**

"It isn't what you think it is!" Hermione blurted out. Draco continued to stand at the entrance hall, staring at Hermione and Ron. He was in total shock after seeing what had happened.

"It isn't!" Ron pushed Hermione away from him, staring at her angrily. "So what was it then, hmm? Just a couple of friends sticking their tongue into each other's mouth?"

Draco opened his mouth to say something but closed it again.

"You still love him, don't you?" Ron practically yelled at Hermione. "Am I just… temporary!"

"It's not like that, Ron. I didn't mean what I said," Hermione sighed.

Draco looked down at himself. His clothes were soaked, he was shivering like mad, and his shoes were flooded with water. Just a minute ago he had not noticed these things for he had been so eager to see Hermione. He had felt amazing, like rain could never wash away the happiness and love from him; not that night. But now, after witnessing her disgusting kiss with Ron, he didn't feel so good anymore. He felt dark, alone, and betrayed.

"Draco…" Hermione pleaded. He stared at Hermione coldly and lifted his chin up with that Slytherin-pride.

"I have nothing to say to you," he muttered. Draco took his wand out of his wet robes and used it to lift his luggage up. He walked pass Hermione and Ron with his head up, and before turning round the corner, he gave a small angry grunt, as if to say what he had seen was absolutely disgusting, and he really did think it was. I mean, _Ron!_

"Oh, look what you did now, Ron," Hermione muttered.

"What_ I_ did!" Ron yelled angrily. "I thought you accepted me because I thought you were ready to forget about Draco. But I guess you're not."

Hermione sighed and looked at her shoes. "I'm trying."

Ron looked at Hermione and felt his heart melt. "Oh, how could I be mad at you?" he smiled at her sweetly, lifting her chin up to look right into her eyes. They were shiny and watery, the brim filling with salty tears. Hermione was crying because Draco had discovered her kissing Ron, but Ron mistook it as an apology to him.

"It's alright, Hermione, don't cry. I'm not angry anymore. I understand that you need time, and I'm willing to give you all the time you need," Ron said, hugging her. They walked back to the Gryffindor common room and went to bed.

Hermione fell on her bed and closed her eyes, tears pouring out rapidly now. She wiped it away with her pillow, but more kept spilling out as she thought of how Draco had looked when he found them French kissing in the halls. Disgusted? Angry? Betrayed? Definitely.

She rolled over and blinked a few times, sniffing. She had imagined Draco's arrival back to Hogwarts – He walks in with his luggage, a huge smile on his face. She runs up to him and kisses him all over, glad that he's back. They embrace in a warm hug and swear to never let go. They get married, live happily ever after…

But no. Her imagination went the exact opposite way. He came in soaking wet and dirty, frowns at the scene before him, and walks away angrily, a look of death on his face.

Now, she had nothing. Ron probably, but to her at moment, he was nothing either.

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Draco put his luggage down and sat at the edge of his bed, sighing. He replayed that kiss over and over again in his mind. That boy kissing Hermione should've been him! How did everything go so wrong?

But it didn't matter now, anyway. He was a death eater – she could never go near him. His job was to hurt people like her... to hurt the innocent. Draco thought of Dumbledore at once, at ran out of the room, hurrying to Dumbledore's office. He stopped at the entrance and stared at the gargoyle before him.

"Uh… chocolate cockroaches?" Draco tested. The gargoyle didn't move.

"Fried feet fries?" The gargoyle still didn't budge.

"What about pumpkin pasties?" The gargoyle stayed in its place.

"Open sesame!" Still nothing. Draco began to get impatient and felt irritated at this. He walked over to the gargoyle and gave it a hard knock, but ended up hurting his own wrist.

"What do you want from me!" Draco yelled. Suddenly he felt someone tap his shoulder lightly. He turned around and saw Dumbledore smiling down at him with laughter in his eyes. Dumbledore walked up to the Gargoyle and whispered, "Dumbledore, Albus."

Draco stared at the gargoyle blankly as it hopped aside and the entrance opened. He hit himself on the head for being so stupid and followed in after the headmaster. They walked up the long stairs and finally reached the office door.

"Make yourself at home," Dumbledore smiled as he opened the door. Draco walked in and took a seat in front of Dumbledore's desk. He took a look around the spacious office, and noticed the Sorting Hat sitting on a shelf, an odd looking sword beside it, and many paintings surrounded the office; paintings of past headmasters and headmistresses. They were all awake, Draco knew, but had been pretending to be asleep with their overly-loud snoring and twitching eyes which kept opening at the wrong times to take peeps.

"Now, Draco. Tell me why you have come to see me," Dumbledore said, stealing Draco's attention from the paintings.

"I uh… I wanted to know why you uh… well, I wanted to know why you let my father take me away from Hogwarts and turn me into a death eater," Draco said uncomfortably.

Dumbledore's expression died away, and he looked at Draco sympathetically. "I tried to persuade your father, but you are not my son, Draco. Lucius had every right to do whatever he wanted to you," he explained.

"But you're the headmaster! The most wise of all! You have your ways of getting what you want all the time, so couldn't you save me?" Draco said. Dumbledore opened his mouth to say something, but Draco cut him off. "Now the world has one death eater more. One more follower of that stupid Lord Voldermort. You made me like this!"

"No, Draco, I did not," Dumbledore said smoothly. Draco waited for him to say more, but he didn't.

"And why didn't you persuade my father to let me go through the rest of the year before leaving as an official death eater? I have friends, I have a life here. Why did you let Lucius just take me away from all that?" Draco continued.

"I did ask him to let you finish off your last year, but he didn't like that idea very much. Furthermore, you would be endangering the other students in this school."

"Oh, so now you think I'm going to murder everyone in Hogwarts!" Draco yelled.

"Draco," Dumbledore said patiently. "I will not tolerate this kind of talk."

"I will not tolerate your decisions!" Draco said.

"In the end, Lucius brought you back to Hogwarts. Why let your anger out when you can rejoice?" Dumbledore said.

"Because I've been betrayed!" Draco yelled, getting up and upsetting his chair. The paintings on the wall of past headmasters and headmistresses snored even louder, but Draco knew they were listening to every word he said. He picked the chair up and put it back in its right position, and stared at the floor.

"Betrayed by you, betrayed by my father, my friends, Hermione…" Draco whispered silently.

"Are you talking about Miss Granger?" Dumbledore said in pure interest. "What could such a sweet girl do?"

"Be too sweet, I suppose," Draco muttered.

"Oh," Dumbledore nodded understandingly. "I see… love problems."

"As if you'd understand. You've never been in love before… have you?" Draco said.

Dumbledore laughed. "That's only for me to know."

"So you _have_ fallen in love before?"

Dumbledore's eyes saddened. Draco wanted to ask more, but he decided he shouldn't.

"Draco, do you love your mother?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes," Draco answered.

"And your father?"

Draco didn't answer. He looked away, pretending not to have heard him. Dumbledore looked at him understandingly. "Miss Granger?"

Draco stared at him angrily. "That's none of your business! Stop talking about her! Why do you want to torture me, professor? Why couldn't you just go pick on Potter?"

"You know, Mr. Potter was here quite some time ago, yelling and screaming at me too. You two have many similarities," Dumbledore said jokingly.

"What – we're both handsome, famous and rich?" Draco said back.

"Yes, actually. I stress on handsome," Dumbledore smiled. "And also, both of you have love."

"How did this conversation go from being a death eater against my will to having love?" Draco wondered aloud.

"Oh, it has its connections. You're a death eater because your father wants you to be one; you can't fight your way out of that. But you can fight being a death eater. You can love," Dumbledore explained.

"My mother is dying, and I just saw Hermione kissing Weasel," Draco muttered.

"Doesn't mean you don't love them both," Dumbledore said.

Draco blushed. "I will get Hermione killed, Professor. I must stay away from her."

"For now," Dumbledore said reasonably. "You are being watched. Avoid Miss Granger for a few weeks, maybe months if it drags out. That's the way it has to be if you want her to be safe."

Draco nodded. "I'd better get to bed then." He walked to the door and closed it behind him, knowing that the only way he could keep Hermione from going near him was to make her hate him.

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"Hermione!" Ron called. Hermione forced herself to smile. They were on their way to the great hall for breakfast, and for the first time, Ron didn't look like a total bedridden mess.

"Hey, Ron," she said. He grinned at her and kissed her cheek.

"Feeling better today, darling?"

"Yeap, fine," Hermione answered unconvincingly. They sat together at the table, Ron sitting uncomfortably close to her. Under the table, he reached for her hand and tickled her palm playfully. Hermione giggled and tickled his hand too, and they began a tickling war. From across the table, Ginny noticed them fidgeting and laughing, and rolled her eyes.

"Stop it. The whole world can see you," she said. Hermione let go of Ron's hand and gave a slight cough of embarrassment.

"What's your problem, Ginny?" Ron snapped irritatedly. "You make out with Harry even in front of the teachers!"

"Oh, you mean like this?" Ginny grinned. She pulled Harry who was sitting innocently beside her and kissed him long and passionately, going all the way to the very end. She let go and Harry showed a confused yet happy expression.

"Don't get on my nerves, Ginny," Ron warned.

"See the thing is, it isn't gross when Harry and I do it. It's disgusting when it's done by you," Ginny said.

"Hey, don't insult Hermione like that!" Ron said protectively.

"Oh, I wasn't insulting _her_," Ginny grinned. Ron got up with his hand raised, ready to reach out and give Ginny a smack, but Hermione held him back.

"She's just having a little fun, Ron," Hermione reasoned. Ron huffed and turned back to his food and ate quietly, shoving everything into his mouth in a lightning shot. Hermione sighed and decided to leave him be, as Ron was always acting immature. She looked around the hall, searching for Draco, and realized he wasn't there. _Where is he anyway? _She started to wonder. _Maybe I should go find him…_

"Ron, I have to go to the loo. Give me a sec, okay?" Hermione said. Ron continued shoving food down his throat angrily, ignoring her, so she got up and walked out of the hall anyway. She went up the stairs leading to the Slytherin common room, and waited outside. Soon, someone came walking out of the room behind the painting, and she slipped in before the door closed. The common room looked just the way it did the day Hermione had been in there, watching Draco pack to leave. Sad memories flooded back into her mind, but she tried to block it out. She walked up the stairs to the boy's dorm room and turned the shiny golden knob anti-clockwise. There on the bed, Draco lay asleep, looking as beautiful as ever.

Hermione walked up to him and smiled. He looked so peaceful sleeping, as if nothing could bother him, and nobody could trouble him. She touched his soft pale cheek and reached over to kiss him. She bent her head slowly and gently touched his soft lips. But when she pulled back, she saw his eyes opening slowly, and began to panic.

_Oh god, what do I do!_ Hermione wondered to herself. She quickly fell to the ground just beside his bed and tried to hide from him. Draco stirred and stretched his arms out, his eyes fully open now. He looked at the sun beaming at him from the window and frowned. Something about this place was different. The room was empty, but he could so slightly hear someone breathing …

"Hermione!" he yelled in fright. There she was, lying on the floor, her bushy hair all over the dirty carpet. "What are you doing here?"

"I- I just came to… I just came to see if you were okay. You didn't come down for breakfast, so I just grew worried," Hermione said quickly. Draco was just about to smile at her when he remembered what had happened the night before, turning his mood around.

"Get out," he ordered dryly.

"But-.." Hermione said weakly. Her eyes were shining with hurt, and she looked like she was about to cry.

"I said _get out_," he ordered again, pointing at the door.

"I'm sorry, Draco. You just don't understand… I'm in love with you!" Hermione pleaded.

"Oh yeah? So what were you doing with Ron last night? Just mingling, is it?" Draco fought back.

"No, it's just that I thought you would never come back, so why not, you know? But you _did _come back, Draco, and I don't want Ron. I want you!"

Draco sighed and got out of bed. "Turn around."

Hermione obediently turned around as Draco undressed and put on clean clothes. He put his robes on and allowed Hermione to turn back to her previous position.

"Look, Hermione. Ron wants you. Don't hurt him," Draco said.

"I have to! I can't please him always," Hermione replied.

"Look, whether you love me or not, it's no use. You will never be with me," Draco said sadly.

"Why not, Draco? Give me a good reason," Hermione said.

Draco sighed again. "Do you want to see it?"

"See what, Draco?"

"This." He lifted his robe, and there was the Dark Mark burned permanently on his left arm, the skin on it torn and bruised. It was still bleeding slightly, but Draco was trying to fight the pain. Hermione winced and the hideous thing and closed her eyes, not believing that it was actually imprinted on the skin of her lover.

"See, Hermione? Can't you understand?" Draco said, covering it with his robes again.

Hermione didn't answer. She swallowed and looked everywhere but at him.

"I'm a death eater now, Hermione. You can never love me."

**I'm not updating till I get more than 10 reviews for this! It's like doing work and getting paid, ya know? So it's paycheck time! Where's my salary? Just playing around. Review kay, or I'm gonna be a very VERY angry person. tears of clothes-turns green-grunts like the Hulk**


	11. Lying From You

**Wow, I expect 8 or 9 reviews, but that was way more… I can't thank you all enough! To xXxSunnyxXxWriterxXx, thanks again a gazillion times for adding me to your favorite story and author list thingy! **

"Dracoooo," Pansy purred. She ruffled his hair and rubbed his arm slowly and seducingly. "It's getting late… I'm tired of studying."

"Just a while more, Pansy, I promise," Draco said. Pansy gave him a weird look, but just shrugged and went back to checking her nails. Draco knew she found him acting pretty unusual, as the library was his least favorite place. But yet there they were, doing their homework behind tall, dusty bookshelves. The only reason Draco bothered being there was because the library reminded him so much of Hermione… he had to avoid her now, for her own safety, but that didn't mean he couldn't be near things related to her.

"The library's rather scary at this time of the night," Pansy commented, looking around. "Let's go… please?"

Draco sighed and packed his stuff. "Sure, Pansy."

She let out a squeal and hugged him as if he had just proposed to her, and ran out of the library desperately. "Finally. The atmosphere in there was making me look ugly. I'm so much more beautiful out here in the light," she said, fluffing her hair. Draco forced himself not to roll his eyes and headed of the to Slytherin common room.

"What happened to that Granger girl, anyway? History?" Pansy asked. When Draco didn't reply, she continued on.

"She has ugly hair. I would never walk out in public and let people see me with that bushy mess. And that nose! Oh, how… how…. Ugh!"

Draco controlled his temper and quickened his pace, hurrying to get to bed.

"Now I know why you dated her.. just to break her heart, eh? You did a great job.. she's a total wreck. Saw her in the halls the other day weeping… I wonder if all mudbloods are so desperate…"

"Pansy, just shut up and walk, all right?" Draco ordered angrily. Pansy fell silent and looked at the ground as she walked to the common room. Even if Draco had hurt her feelings, he didn't care. All he could think about was Hermione. He ate Hermione, slept Hermione, breathed Hermione… she had become his life.

_Whoever said love is beautiful must've been out of his or her mind_, Draco thought. _'Cause right now, I'm feeling absolutely miserable._

"Aaaahhhhhhhh!"

Hermione looked up and saw Ginny storming her way into the Gryffindor common room. She had been sitting by the fireplace, dozing off and thinking about Draco before Ginny had barged in.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, concered.

"That stupid Harry Potter!" Ginny muttered, sitting on the chair beside Hermione. "Why do I even bother with him? He's horrible! Wanna know what he did?"

"Yes, please," Hermione said interestedly. She couldn't imagine Harry doing something so bad to upset Ginny like this.

"Well, you know that Valentine's Day is coming soon, right?" Ginny started. Hermione nodded for her to continue. "Well.. I was talking to Harry just now… and I brought up the subject... so I asked him what he was getting me, and he looked away and didn't answer.. so I said, 'well, answer me, Harry!' and he just kept quiet. He's showing me a sign that he forgot about Valentine's Day. Or maybe he doesn't care about me enough to give me a present!"

Hermione stared at Ginny blankly. She was having problems with Draco because he was now an official death eater, and when he came all the way from his home just to see her, she was busy kissing Ron. But here Ginny was, getting upset that Harry wasn't going to buy her a Valentine's gift. Hermione would have given anything to be able to get angry at Draco for such a small thing… but no, God wanted her to go through life the hard way.

"Well?" Ginny said when Hermione didn't reply.

"Um… wow. I'm at a lost for words," Hermione finally said.

"I know! It's so horrible, isn't it?" Ginny sighed and looked into the blazing fire. "I'm not overreacting, am I?" she asked Hermione.

_Definitely_, Hermione thought. "Of course not, silly. This is a very big deal. Harry should've known better," she lied.

Ginny huffed. "Absolutely! I'm never going to speak to him again."

Hermione closed her eyes as Ginny started babbling again about how angry she was at Harry.

"- and he kissed me goodnight on my _cheek_. He's showing me bad signs! Oh, I give up. I'm going to bed."

Hermione said goodnight to Ginny and went back to dozing off by the fireplace. _Valentine's Day_, she thought. _What an awful day for people like me._

She sighed. _Whoever said love is beautiful must have been out of his or her mind_.

_Because right now, I feel everything but beautiful._

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

"So, obviously you're going with Ginny…" Ron started. They were having breakfast in the great hall. Both Ginny and Hermione hadn't come down yet… but hey, they're girls, aren't they?

"Um," Harry interrupted. "Not exactly…"

"What!" Ron exclaimed, shocked. "Oh no… did you guys fight about whose candy is whose again? I told you not to be such a glut and eat her share."

"It's not about the candy! And I didn't eat ALL of her share. Just… a little. Anyway, that happened months ago, can you please not bring it up?" Harry said sternly. Ron snickered. "Then why aren't you going to Hogsmeade with Ginny this Saturday?"

"Well, she got angry at me because I didn't get her a present," Harry said.

"Why didn't you?" Ron said.

"Hey, side me, I'm your best friend!"

"Ginny's my sister! And she's right. You should've gotten her a present," Ron said.

"I did! I mean, I'm going to. I already have it all planned. I just haven't bought it yet," Harry explained.

"Oh… why didn't you just tell Ginny that?" Ron asked.

"I don't know! I was keeping quiet, trying to hide it from her, and she mistook it and jumped to conclusions. Then she stormed off before I could say anything," Harry said.

"What a pity," Ron shook his head.

Hermione and Ginny stepped in the great hall, whispering away. When Ginny spotted Harry, she looked at Hermione intently and avoided eye contact with him till she reached her seat.

"Ginny," Harry said.

"What?"

"Don't get angry at me… I got you something, all right?" Harry said.

"Well, it's about time!" Ginny muttered.

"So will you forgive me now, baby?"

"No," Ginny said. "Maybe tomorrow."

Ron rolled his eyes and Harry sighed. Hermione was lost in her own thoughts though, staring into space. Ron shook her and frowned. "What's wrong, dear?"

"Uh… nothing, Ron. Just a little sleepy, really," Hermione said, faking a yawn. Ron looked unsure, but decided to let her be.

"I can't wait for Valentine's Day. You're so beautiful," he complimented.

Hermione blushed. "Thanks, Ron. You're sweet."

Ron continued eating, and when he turned to look at Hermione, she was staring off into space again. He began to worry. "Hermione, seriously. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Hermione snapped. Ron stared at her, hurt in his eyes. Hermione touched his cheek softly and apologized. "I'm sorry darling. Let's just eat."

And they kept a constant silence the rest of the morning.

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Valentine's Day came, and everyone in Hogwarts was feeling excited. Couples were kissing each other in the halls, many were holding hands, and most were whispering sweet nothings to each other. Love was replacing oxygen, and everyone was feeling absolutely amazing. Everyone except for three people – Draco, Hermione, and of course, Ginny.

Everyone made their way to Hogsmeade in either groups or twosomes. Hermione and Ron held hands the whole way, making her palm disgustingly sweaty as Ron didn't allow her to let go. Harry was, as usual, surrounded by hopeful girls who thought they had a chance with him, as they didn't see Ginny anywhere near him.

"I love you," Ron said, kissing Hermione's forehead as they reached Hogsmeade. "And Happy Valentine's Day."

Hermione smiled at him. "Happy Valentine's Day, Ron. I love you too."

Suddenly Ron let go of her hand and crouched down, his face tightening. He let out a soft yelp of pain.

"You okay, Ron?"

"Yeah, great," Ron assured her, getting up. "Must've been something I ate." They continued walking for a few minutes, until Ron bent down again and pressed his stomach hard.

"Ron, are you sure you're alright?" Hermione asked again, getting worried.

"Yes, perfect!" Ron struggled to say. Just as he said that, he vomited out his breakfast all over the ground. Some people turned to stare, and some walked a far distance from the two of them.

"Oh my god," Hermione panicked. "We've got to get you back."

"No," he pleaded. "Please stay. I don't want to ruin your day."

"But, Ron! You have to go back… you're not feeling well!" Hermione said, pulling him up.

"No no, I'll go myself. You go ahead, okay? Have fun, Hermione," Ron said, and turned around, leaving her in the crowd, standing next to a puddle of stinky vomit. She sighed and decided to make most of her day. She couldn't find anyone she knew anywhere, so she decided to just take a stroll.

As she was walking, she heard someone call out a very familiar name.

"Malfoy! In here!"

She followed the sound of the voice and spotted a blonde headed boy walking into a bar with some of his friends. She waited till they went in and walked up to the bar quickly. It looked like a new place, clean and simple, yet dark and dangerous. She wondered what Draco would be doing in a place like this. She wondered if the death eaters meet here every week or something. She counted to five and walked in, running quickly in a corner to hide in the shadows.

She made a bee line for Draco, and saw him sitting on a stool at the counter with Crabbe, Goyle and someone she didn't know. They were all showing off their left arms to each other, which Hermione thought was pretty weird for a second, until she realized that they were checking out each other's dark mark.

"Mine is slightly above yours," she heard Crabbe say.

"No it is not," Goyle fought back. Draco rolled his eyes and hit them both on the head. "Who cares? As long as it looks cool."

Hermione wondered if Draco really meant it.

"How come yours is still bleeding, Malfoy?" the boy Hermione didn't recognize asked.

"I don't know, really," Draco answered.

"Anyway," Goyle said. "This place here has some beer here. Some stuff called Tiger or Heinekens, I think. Zabini said it makes you feel darn good."

"But he also said the later effects can be pretty nasty," Crabbe warned.

"Don't be such a party pooper," the other boy said. He made a hand gesture to get the bartender to come over, and ordered four beers.

"Uh, no, I don't want one, Zack," Draco protested, waving his hand at the boy. "Not feeling too good today."

Zack shrugged and they continued to talk. Hermione watched the four of them laugh and chat for a long time, and soon the boys except for Draco started waving their hands left and right and making rude gestures to passers-by. They laughed louder than normal, and started knocking glasses and beer bottles over, making a huge mess. The bartended didn't seem surprised; he looked as if this sort of thing happens to his customers all the time.

"So, planning to kill anyone?" Goyle asked.

"Yeah, probably," Draco joked.

"OooOoOooOooo… who?" Zack asked, his eyes crossed.

"Some girl named Hermione Granger," Draco answered. Hermione gasped at this.

"Dude! You mean that girl you were dating earlier? Yea, kill her," Goyle supported.

Draco grinned, but didn't say anything after that. Hermione felt hurt at this, and forced herself not to cry.

Draco excused himself and began to make his way to the bathroom. And that's when Hermione realized that he was coming her way.

_Oh god, oh god_, Hermione panicked. _What do I do now?_

She decided to run out as fast as she could, so fast that Draco couldn't see her. She got up and prepared to run, her eyes on the main door. She shot across Draco and pushed herself out the door before he saw anything. She continued to run just in case he went outside to look, and ran and ran till she found herself in a dark alleyway.

Many disgusting looking men were there, playing with the garbage. She decided it wasn't safe to be there and started to walk out of the alley.

"Hey there, little missy," one of the dirty men in the alleyway called out. Hermione didn't stop, and continued walking forward as if she had not heard him.

"I said hey there, little missy," the man said again, slightly louder this time. Hermione quickened her pace.

"Don't you ignore me!" he yelled at her. She began to run, but he was much faster than her and caught up to her. She screamed as he grabbed her and brought her to the back of the alley. She tried to fight but it was no use; he was way too strong. He found a dirty hanky and tied it around her mouth. Then he laid her on the floor and got his friends to pin her down. Hermione tried to move, but they were using so much strength to keep her from moving, as if they really needed to do what they were about to do.

_No_, she thought, tears pouring out of her eyes. _This can't be happening to me._

The man tore her robes open and unzipped her sweater. He took of everything she had been wearing until she was lying there, bare naked.

"And now, the fun begins," the man said, laughing.

Hermione lay there helplessly, hot tears pouring out, wishing someone could appear there and save her from what was about to happen.

But no one came.

"-and he actually thought he could win!" Zack laughed. "Woooooooooooooow!"

Crabbe had already passed out on the table, and Goyle was peeing in his pants. Draco sighed, feeling bored as ever.

"C'mon, you guys. Let's go. It's getting dark," he said, looking at the sky outside. Zack nodded lazily and slapped Crabbe. "Get the hell up. We're going back."

They walked out of the bar and headed back to Hogwarts. They walked for a moment, till Crabbe told them to stop.

"You guys," he said sleepily. "Check it out. There's someone there."

Draco looked in the dirty alley and saw a body lying on the wet, muddy ground.

"Leave it be, must be some drunk kid who passed out," Zack said. But Draco couldn't move. He sensed that something was very wrong, and it had to do with that body lying there.

"C'mon Draaaaaaaaaaco," Goyle hit his back.

"You guys go ahead," Draco said. They nodded and continued walking, going in every direction and hitting walls.

Draco walked up to the body slowly, dread rising in him. He stopped and picked up a torn sweater soaked in mud, which looked just like the one Hermione had. He held his breath as he walked towards the body. He spotted her jeans lying somewhere near her, torn and tattered as well. He finally reached her and took a closer look. She was covered by her robes, which Draco recognized as Hogwart's robes. He bent down slowly and tugged the robe, revealing the girl's face and bare body, covered in dirt and blood. And it wasn't just any girl.

"Oh my god."

**Sorry this was rushed as well, got an exam coming up. Won't be updating much, sorry yeah… review again please! Thanks ya'll! Love ya, **

**Chelsea Felton.**


	12. Brand New

**EXAMS ARE OFFICIALLY OVER! In my country, that is. OMG fanfiction is so screwed up! I've been trying to put this up for days, but it just wouldn't show.. Here's the 12 chapter, anyway! **

"She got WHAT!"

"Rap-.." Madam Pomfrey started.

"No, don't even say it," Ron interrupted, closing his eyes.

Draco, Ron, Harry and Ginny were in the hospital wing, after receiving the shocking news of Hermione's abuse. Hermione was still unconscious, with bruises on her face and minor cuts on her arms and legs. Draco had carried her back to Hogwarts with tremendous effort, as Crabbe, Goyle and Zack had refused to help carry her, making jokes about her spreading her mudblood disease.

"You know, this is all your fault," Ron scolded Draco angrily.

"MY fault!" Draco's eyes widened, and he stood up. He was slightly shorter than Ron, but he looked much stronger. "How can it be MY fault? You weren't there to save her or to carry her all the way back to school. You were busy barfing in the toilet. You should've known no to eat food from the ground, Weasel."

Ron's nostrils flared. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again, having nothing else to say. He bent down and kissed Hermione's forehead, whispered something to her although she obviously couldn't hear him, and left the room.

Harry twitched and touched his forehead, feeling his scar. He groaned and closed his eyes, looking very much in pain.

"What's going on, Potter?" Draco asked, trying not to sound concerned.

"It's my scar," Harry answered. "It's burning."

Draco immediately felt a sensation sweep through his left arm and lifted the sleeve of his robes, rubbing his skin where the dark mark was imprinted. He pulled his sleeve down and looked up consciously, and noticed that Harry was staring at him weirdly.

"What?" Draco snapped.

Harry shook his head.

Draco wondered if Harry had seen the dark mark, and was confirmed when Harry spoke up softly.

"Why is it still bleeding?"

"That's none of your business," Malfoy snapped at him.

HarrHJaH

Ginny sighed. Only now had Draco realized she was there. She hadn't said a word since she arrived, and he wasn't surprised. A close friend getting raped by dirty alley dogs wasn't a usual everyday happening.

"Is she going to wake up?" Harry asked.

"Of course she is, Potter. You're really stupid, you know?" Draco answered. Harry rolled his eyes and continued to stare at Hermione.

"She looks… dead," Harry whispered.

"Don't say that," Draco muttered angrily. "She's just under a spell, probably."

"Well, we don't really know what spell. These alley people have got nothing better to do with their lives. They probably try out new spells with all that free time, and must have put some never-waking spell on her!" Harry finished.

Draco sighed. "Shut up, will you?"

"Stop it Draco," Ginny finally spoke up.

"And who are you to tell me what to do?"

"Hermione just got raped, and now she's not waking up. Can we just not fight at a time like this?" Ginny pleaded.

"I'm sorry," Harry apologized and kissed Ginny.

Draco didn't say anything. He just frowned at looked at Hermione sadly. There she was, covered in bruises, her eyes swollen from tears, dirt and dried leaves in her hair. And yet she managed to look so beautiful and innocent, even with the sadness surrounding her.

"We'd better go. It's getting very late," Ginny said, standing up. Harry nodded in agreement, following her out. He turned around and was about to ask Draco if he was leaving too, but decided against it when he saw Draco bending down to whisper to her.

"I know you can't hear me," Draco said softly in Hermione's ear. "But I know you can feel me." He took her hand and held in tightly in his. Tears fell down his cheeks as he tried to imagine the situation Hermione had been in. He stopped himself once he had gone too far, and rested bowed his head on the stained mattress of the old school hospital, gripping Hermione's hand so tightly, her blood was probably having trouble flowing through.

"You have no idea how much I love you," he said. He imagined Hermione opening her eyes and turning to him, saying 'Yes, I do. I love you too,' but all she did was lie there on the bed, as silent as a feather floating in the air.

"Sorry, visiting hours are over, darling. Come again tomorrow morning, and good night!" Madam Pomfrey said gently, ushering Draco out. He took one last look at Hermione before leaving the hospital wing, as one last tear falls to the ground in an unusually slow pace.

And he let the door close behind him, shutting out his pain.

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The whole school was talking about what had happened to Hermione. Draco heard people talking about it during classes, during meals, in the common room, in his dorm, and even in the loo. He couldn't go anywhere without hearing Hermione's name. But it wasn't as if he kept forgetting about her… he visited her everyday at the hospital wing in between classes and would even skip dinner sometimes just to watch her. Even Ron didn't visit her as much – once in two days, most of the time.

That night, Draco sat in the hospital wing as usual, reading a book to Hermione, eventhough he knew she couldn't hear him.

"He pushed her hair behind her ear and leaned over. She closed her eyes and moved forward as well, ready to embrace in a kiss. It felt so different, when their lips touched. A feeling she had never felt before. A feeling of fate.." Draco stopped reading and stared at Hermione, who still wasn't moving a muscle.

"This book sucks," Draco muttered, tossing the thick book aside. "Love is so overrated. What do I know about love, anyway? I can't even get to be with the girl I want so badly. Stupid mark. Because of you, I have to stay away from Hermione. Damn you, Lucius Malfoy." He slapped his left arm where the dark mark was, but it only caused him more pain. His mark didn't turn out like Crabbe or Goyle's marks… no matter how hard Draco tried to heal the wound on his arm, it just kept on bleeding. He wondered if You-Know-Who wanted to punish him by simply imprinting that stupid mark on his skin and letting it bleed for the rest of his life. Then he wondered if he was allergic to dark marks…

"AaaahhhH!"

Draco looked up and gasped. "Hermione!" He reached over to hug her, but she pushed him away quickly, screaming like a mad woman.

"Get away from me! Get away from me!" Hermione tried to move far away from Draco. He looked at her, confused and hurt, but attempted to touch her arm.

"Don't touch me!"

"Hermione, is something wr-.."

"How do you know my name! WHO ARE YOU!"

Draco sat back in shock. He knew what had gone wrong… Hermione couldn't remember him. The spell she had been under erased her entire memory. She didn't know who he was, she didn't know where she was, and she probably didn't know anything about herself. Maybe only the fact that her name was Hermione Granger.

"Answer me!" Hermione demanded.

"What is all this noise about?" Madam Pomfrey came running out of a room. Hermione struggled to get out of bed and backed away from Draco and Madam Pomfrey.

"Who are you people!" She demanded to know.

"Dear, calm down!" Madam Pomfrey said. Draco sat there silently, feeling like an elephant just sat on him.

"Not until you tell me who you are!" Hermione yelled.

"Alright alright! My name is Madam Pomfrey, and this boy here is Draco," Madam Pomfrey introduced awkwardly. "You are in Hogwarts."

"What is that – a night club?

"No, a school," Madam Pomfrey said irritatedly. "You are a student here. You were abused recently by some horrible wizards. They casted a spell on you and you lost your memory," she explained.

"Whoa whoa whoa. Wait a second. Wizards? Spells? What planet are ya'll from?" Hermione backed up. Draco sighed and shook his head.

"The wizarding world. You're a witch," he said briefly.

Hermione laughed. "A witch? It's just getting better and better. What next – you're going to tell me my mother is a duck and my dad's a jelly bean?"

Madam Pomfrey coughed and turned to Draco. "This is serious. A student just lost her memory! She has no idea who she is and where she's from. Run off and tell Professor Dumbledore. I'll work on the cure right away. This has happened before many years ago… I just can't remember how I made that stupid potion…" She looked at Hermione sympathetically and hurried back into her room.

Hermione picked up a mirror on a table beside her. She gasped and grinned widely. "I'm kinda pretty, doncha think?" She looked at her face with the mirror from all angles and sighed. "Just the hair…"

Draco looked away. He hadn't imagined Hermione's comeback would have been like this. He was glad that she even managed to wake up from that horrible coma, but he expected something more… serious?

"How long was I asleep? I look dreadful! Like, my nails are all blunt! You got an emery board or a buffer or something?" Hermione asked Draco. He shook his head. He didn't even know what an emery board or a buffer was. Hermione rolled his eyes at him and flicked her hair about, still staring in the mirror. He looked at Hermione frowning at her hair. The old Hermione never bothered much about her hair. The old Hermione didn't talk like a brainless idiot. He didn't want the new Hermione… The new Hermione was the exact type of girl he disliked. The kind of girl Pansy was.

"Hey you know, you're kinda cute," Hermione commented, staring at Draco. He blushed and kept quiet. "That whole aloof thing isn't gonna work. Flirt with me or something! Gosh, men are so clueless!"

Draco stared at her blankly. What the heck was she talking about!

"I uh.. I gotta go. It's getting kind of late and I'm feeling very tired. I'll see you in the morning, okay?" Draco said, hurrying out the room.

"Whatever. I'm kinda thirsty though. Feels like I haven't drank a drop of water in weeks. Can you -.." Hermione said, but Draco was already running out the door.

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"HERMIONE!" Ron screamed. They were at the great hall, the rest already halfway through their breakfast. Ron reached over and attempted to kiss her, but she pushed him away.

"Eww."

She continued walking and looked around for anyone she knew. Somehow at the back of her mind, she recognized almost everyone, but she just couldn't put a finger to it who they were. Then she noticed a cute guy with full moon spectacles and a lightning scar on his forehead talking to a pretty girl. _Target number one, Scarhead._

"Hermione!" he exclaimed happily. She grinned and leaned over to kiss him. When she pulled back, she frowned at the shock and somewhat disgusted look on Scarehead's face.

"What – am I not kissing you right?" Hermione asked.

"No, it's nothing like that, Mione. It's just that… you've never kissed me before," Scarhead explained.

"Really?" Hermione said. "Well, I just did. Did you like it?"

"Well, you kiss well Hermione –.." Scarhead started. The pretty girl who had been talking to him earlier whacked his head hard. "Harry!" she said angrily.

"Continue, uh, Harry," Hermione purred.

"But Ginny's my girlfriend. Remember?"

Hermione stared at them. "Oh, I see." Her cheeks flushed and she ate quietly

"What's wrong with you, Hermione?" Ron muttered, sitting beside her.

"Oh, it's you again," Hermione muttered. "What do you want?"

"I'm you BOYFRIEND, Mione. Have you forgotten?" Ron yelled angrily.

Hermione's jaw dropped. "Boyfriend! Oh, there must be some mistake," Hermione looked him up and down. Ron turned red with embarrassment.

"Hermione, stop acting this way. It's rude, it's inconsiderate, and you just kissed my boyfriend! What's gotten into you? You know, I was so glad that you came back from your coma, but it's like you've changed in your sleep!" Ginny yelled at her.

"She doesn't know who she is," a voice said behind her. They turned to look at Draco. "I just spoke with Dumbledore. She can't remember who she is, and this might be temporary or permanent."

Ginny looked like she was going to burst in tears.

"Say hello to the new Hermione."

**I know it's a bit different from my usual writing, but I'm not feeling so serious, after all that stress over the exams. So here's a bitchy choke I mean witchy chapter of Hermione totally losing her mind… it's just a little twist to have some fun with the story, but don't worry… If you hate it, its okay, because I think I'll hate it too when I re-read it later. Next chapter is going to be serious. Seriously boring. Oh, and of course, REVIEW!**


	13. Kiss Me

Hermione ran as fast as she could.

She burst into the dim, sleepy room and struggled to catch her breath.

"I know I'm late, Trelawney, but really, students ought to be allowed to sleep longer. How do you expect us to study with our eyes closed?"

Professor Trelawney ignored her comment and told her to take a seat quickly.

Hermione made a bee-line for Harry and Ron and lazily plopped down beside them. Everyone at school knew about her case of amnesia already. Even people outside of school heard about it, and it came out in the Daily Prophet as well. Hermione's parents wrote a letter to Dumbledore in rage, but he had explained to them calmly that the cure was in the process of being founded again, and it was only a matter of time that Hermione was to be her usual self once again.

"And it's _Professor_ Trelawney to you," the professor added. Hermione rolled her eyes and started filing her nails. Hermione was looking absolutely amazing that day. She had somehow managed to straighten up her messy hair and left it soft and wavy. Her eyes looked bigger as well, and her lips were fuller. Ron gaped at her, practically drooling, and turned around to tell his classmates, "Remember, she's my girlfriend!"

Hermione heard this and her jaw dropped in disgust. "Not anymore! I don't even know you! Well, I did, but I don't now."

Ron looked hurt and opened his mouth to say something, but Professor Trelawney interrupted.

"So, let study about illusion curses today, alright? Read up the first few paragraphs, students," Professor Trelawney said dreamily. She took a seat on her favourite green couch which produced a horrible stench of rotten eggs. She relaxed and soon dozed off. The class noticed this and began chattering at once.

"Hermione, Hermione!" people called, rushing to her. "Remember me? How about me? Do you know who I am, Hermione?"

Hermione smiled at all the attention she was getting. "Don't call me Hermione, I don't like it. Call me… hmm... Zena."

Ron stared at her. "Zena? That name doesn't suit you, Hermione."

"It does if I want it to. Now stop calling Hermione!" she ordered. Suddenly she felt something hard hit her head, and blacked out.

_I've been waiting for this… I've been wanting you._

_All I want is to be with you… forever._

Her eyes shot open and she blinked at the people crowding around her.

"Are you okay, Zena? You just fell on the ground all of a sudden and stayed stiff for a minute or so. Do you need to go to the hospital wing?" a boy asked, concerned.

"No need for that, I'm perfectly fine," Hermione replied. She got up and sat back at her chair, embarrassed. _What if I didn't faint right? What if I looked ugly…_

Professor Trelawney woke up from her sleep and sucked in the air too quickly, causing her to snort. A few boys snickered, and Professor Trelawney blushed.

"Settle down, students! Now, Miss Granger, explain to me the meaning of illusion curses," Professor Trelawney said sternly.

"Don't know, and don't wanna know," Hermione replied casually.

"Don't be rude, Miss Granger. Give me a proper answer."

"Something to do with illusions and curses?" Hermione guessed.

Professor Trelawney sighed. "Close enough."

As Professor Trelawney walked to the other side of the room to bore the other student, Hermione thought of her vision. She saw a blonde haired boy who was whispering those words to her, but it was too foggy to see who. She wondered what it meant, anyway. Did the old Hermione have… a lover?

_Whatever_, Hermione thought. _When this is over, I'm going to look for Draco. He's the only one worth using time on._

Ron looked at Hermione, a hopeful gleam in his eyes. _Maybe,_ he thought. _Maybe the new Hermione doesn't love Draco… and then I can have her all to myself._

Good luck, Ron.

"Draco darling, there you are!" Hermione exclaimed, running over to him and kissing both sides of his cheeks. They were on their way to the great hall for lunch.

"Uh, Hermione-.." Draco said uncomfortably.

"_Tut tut_," Hermione interrupted. "Zena, you mean."

"Uh, right, Zena. What's going on?"

Hermione grabbed his hand and squeezed it tight. "Wanna skip lunch and go for a walk?"

"Um, no, I don't think so."

Hermione looked hurt. "Why not? Do I have something in my teeth?"

"No, it's not that, it's just…" What was he to say? That she was a Pansy clone now? That she was loud and irritating? That her hair looked so utterly beautiful today…

"It's just what, Draco?"

"I'm hungry and I want to eat inside," he replied lamely. Hermione shrugged and muttered whatever, then leaned against the wall, pulling Draco's robes.

"Kiss me," she ordered, her eyes fluttering flirtatiously.

"Uh.. I don't know if-.."

"Oh come on, Draco. Kiss me!" Hermione said, getting impatient.

"Well, I -.."

"Just do it!" Hermione yelled. Draco leaned forward quickly and kissed her passionately. Her hands started running all over the place, and she made him kiss her ear, then her neck, then her collarbone, then…

Draco pulled back, panting.

"Whaddya think? I'm a good kisser?" Hermione grinned.

"Well, Herm- I mean, Zena," Draco corrected himself. "It was great, really, but…" The other times he had kissed the old Hermione were so much better, and so much more meaningful. Kissing this Zena girl was different. Bad different. Uncomfortable different. Disgusting different.

"But?" Hermione pressed.

"But I'm really REALLY hungry, so that just killed the mood," Draco said quickly. He pretended to walk to the great hall, and when she turned away, he switched directions and went up to the Slytherin common room so that he didn't have to kiss Hermione/Zena again.

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"Madam Pomfrey?"

"Yes, who is it? Oh hello there Mr. Malfoy!" Madam Pomfrey greeted cheerfully. "How can I help you, dear?"

Draco looked around the hospital wing, remembering all those times he had been in here. "I uh, wanted to ask you about that potion thingy you're making to get Hermione's memory back. Is it going well?"

Madam Pomfrey's face fell. "Not so, dear. It will take quite a long time, unless there's another way."

_Another way_, Draco thought. He was stirring up a plan. Could he?

"Thanks a lot, Madam Pomfrey. You've helped!" Draco thanked, and turned around to leave the hospital wing.

"Were you being sarcastic?" Madam Pomfrey asked, but he was already out the door.

"Hermione! There you are!" Draco called after her. She was walking alone in the deserted hallway. She ignored him and continued walking.

"Hermione?" Draco said, unsure of why she was ignoring him. Then he remembered.

"Right, Zena! Yeah, hey Zena," Draco said. Hermione stopped in her tracks and turned to smile at him. "Hey, Draco! Sorry, I didn't hear you calling me just now."

Draco resisted the urge to roll his eyes to the back of his head. "We need to talk."

"Shoot," Hermione nodded, looking at him with her big, brown eyes. He smiled, his temper fading, wondering how nice it would be to just drown himself in her eyes, like dipping a cherry into chocolate fudge to make a yummy dessert. If people kissed with their eyes, he wouldn't stop kissing her. He let out a chuckle at the thought of people kissing with their eyes.

"Earth to Mr. Malfoy. Do you copy?"

Draco snapped back and apologized. "Yeah, as I was saying… okay, Zena. You're fully aware that you do not exactly exist, and you're just temporary replacing the old Zena, which is Hermione, right?"

Hermione blinked slowly, acting cool. "'Scuse me handsome, what do you mean by temporary? I may be permanent."

Draco prayed silently that it wasn't. "It most probably won't be permanent. Street wizards are mostly school drop-outs. They wouldn't be able to produce that strong magic as to permanently change a person's personality."

"I'm disappointed, Draco. You sound as if you don't want me here," Hermione tried to make a sad puppy-dog face.

_Well, I don't_, Draco wanted to say, but he had more to tell her. He didn't want her to run off just yet. "Of course not, Zena. You're so beautiful and perfect."

Hermione blushed. "Yeah, I get that a lot," she grinned. Draco sighed and continued. "I used to date the old Hermione, see, and I really loved her."

Hermione frowned. "Look, I'm not her. If you're thinking of continuing a relationship, I don't see how it'll work. I can't be who you want me to be, Draco. I can't walk around without make up or have hideous bushy hair. I can't do it. Not for you, not for anyone."

"I understand," Draco said quickly. "That's why I have to change you back to who you once were."

"Wait, that's technically killing me," Hermione said.

Draco shrugged. "You're not real, Zena. Hermione is real, and everyone wants her back."

"I don't care who wants her back. I'm not dying for any of you," Hermione snapped.

"You're not gonna die okay! You're just going to exchange places with the real person," Draco explained.

"You're not gonna have Hermione back, Draco. I won't give her to you."

"Then who am I supposed to love?" Draco said. "The girl who changed me from being a total arse to a gentleman. The girl who was my Divination tutor. The girl-.."

"The girl who put you in so much pain and suffering?" Hermione finished his sentence. Draco stared at her blankly. "How did you know?"

"I've been getting these visions. They come on and off. Mostly all of them are about you. About how she left you for that weird guy Ronald. And how she was kissing him when you came back all drenched from the rain, looking so depressed yet – may I add, hot -," Hermione said. "You were pretty pathetic, though."

Draco stared at his feet, keeping silent.

"But," Hermione continued. "There were many times she stared at you. When you eat at the great hall, during classes, when you're talking to your friends, when you're alone, when you're rushing through homework in the library. So many scenes, so many visions. It's like the both of you can't get enough of each other." She shook her head.

Draco focused his eyes on Hermione. "I love her, Zena. Please, you have to understand…"

Hermione sighed. "I don't want to go, Draco," she touched his cheek the way Hermione used to do. "I want to stay here. It's the life I never had."

"But the person who has been living in that body you're now in for seventeen years wants her body back," Draco said. "I want her back."

Hermione stood there, staring at Draco, for what seemed like hours to him. Finally, she sighed and opened her mouth. "I can see how much you love her," she said softly. "I know I'm a big change to everyone here. Not a very good change, though…" she chuckled sadly.

Draco dropped down and leaned against the cold wall. Hermione did the same thing, and they both sat there, lost in their own thoughts.

"Kiss me," Hermione said all of a sudden.

"What?" Draco asked, confused.

"Kiss me," Hermione repeated patiently. "She'll come back."

"How do you-.."

"Just do it!" Hermione said.

Draco leaned over, staring into the depths of her eyes. "I could swim in those," Draco commented. Hermione smiled. "They're beautiful eyes, aren't they?" Draco nodded. Hermione leaned in as well and they both closed their eyes, slowly moving closer. As Draco's lips touched hers, memories flooded back into his brain. He could hear Hermione's voice calling him over and over again in a haunting, slow motion. Finally, he let go.

"I love you, Hermione," he whispered. He opened his eyes and saw Hermione staring back at him oddly.

"Uh… did it work?" Draco asked timidly. Hermione didn't reply. She continued to stare at him, a look of shock in her eyes.

"Hermione?"

The look of shock changed into a look of pure happiness, and she started laughing, hugging him. "I'm back! I'm back!"

Draco smiled. "I've missed you so much, Hermione."

"I've missed you too," Hermione said. When she pulled back, her eyes were red and filled with tears. "I was lost in a black hole, walking in circles for days. I could hear every word the new Hermione said to you, and I heard every word you said to her." She smiled at him and kissed his cheek. Draco reached out and wiped her tears away with his sleeve. "You know I love you."

"Yeah, I know," Hermione grinned, sniffing. Draco felt his dark mark hurt again, and he grabbed his left arm.

"You okay?" Hermione asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, but he was still wincing.

"You don't look fine, Draco," Hermione said. Draco wanted to deny it, but suddenly he felt his robes warm up, and pulled back his hand. Hermione gasped as she saw blood seeping through the long sleeve of his robes like spilled wine. "Oh my God," she exclaimed. She lifted the sleeve and examined the mark. "It's bleeding so unusually. The blood isn't coming out from the wound normally. It's like a fountain being switched on."

Draco was turning paler than he already was. "Help me stop it, Hermione. It hurts so much!"

Hermione got up and helped Draco stand. "We have to see Dumbledore about this."

They ran to Dumbledore's office, and were panting when they arrived. "Oh no," Hermione said. "I have no idea what the password is!"

"Dumbledore, Albus," Draco said simply. The ugly gargoyle standing in front of them jumped aside, and the gigantic door opened for them. "How did you know?" Hermione asked.

"I was in here before, after becoming a death eater," Draco explained. Blood was dripping on the steps leading to the office. Hermione was too afraid to see it – she kept her head up, trying not to spot the drops on the floor. When they reached the top, Hermione knocked on the door hard. Dumbledore opened it, his eyes half closed.

"Ahh," Dumbledore said. "What are you doing up at this time of the night?"

"Professor, Draco's mark is bleeding, and it won't stop!" Hermione exclaimed.

"My word! You're back, Miss Granger!" Dumbledore hugged Hermione. "We've missed you dearly. I'll write to your parents to tell them the good news soon enough."

"Thank you, professor. Now, about Draco?" Hermione said.

"Oh, yes, of course." Dumbledore led Draco to the same chair Draco had knocked down earlier before, and he stood there for a while, examining the mark.

Dumbledore's beautiful red phoenix flew near him. "Ahh yes," Dumbledore said. "The phoenix can cure this."

The beautiful phoenix with it's feathers of different shades of red flew above the wound and let its tears fall on it. Draco felt his wound sting for a moment, then watched in amazement as it healed neatly.

"Wow," he said moments later, still in shock.

"Now let's see here for a moment and talk about why it was bleeding," Dumbledore said. He pointed his in front of where Hermione was standing, and a comfy golden chair appeared. Hermione thanked the professor and sat down.

"Now, son, how long has it been bleeding?" Dumbledore asked.

"Since I got it, sir," Draco answered.

Dumbledore stroked his long beard. "I see, I see," was all he said.

"What's happening to me, sir?"

"Well, it's going to burst later and bleed again, that's for sure," Dumbledore said. "Eventually it will bleed so much till you will die, surrounded by a pool of all your own blood. Horrible death, absolutely horrible."

Draco stared at him. "Professor, I don't want to die!"

Dumbledore smiled. "I was only joking. But it will bleed again. Not as bad though, after it has been touched by the tears of the mother of birds."

Draco sighed in relief. "But why is it bleeding, sir? Crabbe and Goyle's ones are perfectly fine."

"Too much love, I supposed," Dumbledore said, stroking his beard again. "Too much love for young Miss Granger."

Hermione blushed. "So I'm the cause of it all?"

"No, don't think of it that way, dear," Dumbledore said. "To love you was Draco's choice, so technically it's his fault," Dumbledore chuckled.

"Oh, professor, it's not a very good time for humor!" Hermione said.

"You're right, my apologies," Dumbledore said quickly. "Lord Voldermort made a terrible mistake, Mr. Malfoy. You are not fit to be a death eater. Death eaters are known to loath, not love. You have been following a different path – a path which does not lead to murdering."

"So what do I do now?" Draco asked.

"This is a tough one, I must say," Dumbledore said.

"Well, maybe I can just go back to Lord Voldemort and tell him to undo my mark. I'm not a very useful death eater, anyway," Draco suggested.

"Oh, sure, you could do that," Dumbledore said. "But just one problem."

"What?" Hermione asked.

"He'll kill you."

**Not a thriller, but it could've been worse, eh? Not to ask too much of ya'll, but can I have 10 reviews again? XD I know I know…**


	14. One By One

**Chapter 14 – One By One.**

"What am I gonna do now, Hermione?" Draco said softly. It was late at night and they were sitting by the stairs again, waiting for Filch and his ugly kitty to come find them.

"I don't know. You could try talking to him," Hermione suggested, her head resting on his chest.

"Voldermort isn't someone you could just strike a conversation with, you know," Draco said. Hermione sighed and closed her eyes.

"I'm out of ideas. You have to do something, Draco. Voldermort is going to find out that you don't want to be his follower, and he's going to…you know…" Hermione whispered.

"He won't. I'll fight him."

"Don't try and act tough Draco, this is Voldermort we're talking about. And I don't want you to get hurt," Hermione said.

"So you're saying I'm weak, then?" Draco raised his voice.

Hermione sighed. "No, Draco, it's not like that… it's just that… for God's sake, Draco, do you know who Voldermort is? How can you even think of defeating him?"

"I can try," Draco said.

"You won't make it," Hermione concluded.

"What's going on out he – Hermione? DRACO?"

Hermione and Draco turned around to see an angry Ron.

"Ron, I can explain," Hermione started quickly.

"No, no need for any explanations. I know exactly what this is," Ron snapped. "You're back, aren't you? And the first person you told was Draco. Somehow I don't feel one bit happy that you're back. Not at all! It's obvious you don't care about me. So I won't care about you either. We're done, Hermione. It's over." With that, Ron turned around and stormed his way back into the Gryffindor common room.

Hermione sat there, her jaw wide open.

"You okay?" Draco asked.

Hermione didn't reply.

"Ron is such a fool," Draco sniggered.

Hermione didn't move a muscle.

"What a loser."

Silence.

"Hermione?"

Nothing.

"Hermione, remember to give me a dripping wet lap dance in the library tomorrow night, okay?"

_Nada._

"Can I have your parent's money?"

"Uh…" Hermione finally replied. "I don't know… no."

"Okay," Draco replied. "But the lap dance is still on eh?"

"Huh?" Hermione said, confused.

"Forget it."

"Did Ron just.. dump me?"

"Um, yeah, looked like it. It had to happen anyway, right? It was time you stopped keeping us a secret," Draco said calmly.

"So this is how it feels like to be dumped…" Hermione said softly.

Draco yawned. "It's getting late, baby, I'm going to bed. See you tomorrow morning." He gave her a peck on the cheek and turned around.

"Love you, Mione."

"Yeah, I love you too."

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Draco woke up the next morning feeling a sharp pain on his arm. He yelped and rolled his sleeve up. The dark mark was bleeding again, even worse than it had the other night. He got out of his bed to see his covers and his whole shirt soaked in his blood.

_No_, Draco thought. _This can't be happening. Not again._

He looked around his room. Everyone had gone down for breakfast, as he had overslept again. He searched around the room for anything he could use to stop the bleeding. And that's when he saw a pen knife.

_Yes_, he thought. _I could use that._

He wrapped his fingers around the blade. Crabbe always used it to open the occasional letters and candy parcels his mother sends him. The knife was so small in his hand, stiff and cold. He shivered as he lifted it to his arm's length.

I'm gonna do it. I'm going to end this once and for all.

And he pressed the knife firmly against his skin. Wincing, he pushed it in deeper, screaming the more and more he went in. He didn't dare open his eyes, afraid to see his flesh hanging out. Finally he reached the end of the black imprinted mark, and turned the knife upwards to take off that piece of his flesh. He opened his eyes, tears falling from the terrible pain, and realized he hadn't prepared his surgery well. He had forgotten to get a pail of water and cloth to damp the blood, so he was running round the room like a dumb bleeding ferret.

Draco rushed to the nearest bathroom and turned on the hot water, grabbing a ragged cloth. He dapped his wound, trying not to scream as excruciating pain seared through his body. He examined his arm, looking at his inner flesh. It was nothing he had seen before – pink with veins, covered in blood. It looked like delicious strawberry ice cream, if you didn't count the horrible stench of raw meat or the dark blue veins wired around, cut in half.

He was too weak to clean up the mess he made. He picked up the dirty pail of hot water and blood-soaked cloth, heading back to his room. There were no bandages around, so he tore a piece of his bed sheet and wrapped it around his arm. He sighed and decided to rest, closing his eyes. The pain would just have to wait till he woke up.

Draco opened his eyes weakly, feeling pain surge through his arm. He looked at the bed sheet wrapped around it, blood all over the floor, and turned around. He let out a soft yelp of surprise when he saw Hermione sitting on the chair by his bed, weeping silently. Her eyes were red and it looked like she had been crying all afternoon.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" Draco asked.

"What have you done?" Hermione said softly.

"What time is it?" Draco asked.

"I said, what have you done?" Hermione repeated angrily.

Draco sighed. "I needed to stop it, Hermione. I cut it off."

"Do you know what's going to happen now!" Hermione said.

"No, what? Hermione, why are you crying? I cut it off, be happy!" Draco pleaded.

"He knows," Hermione whispered, as if she was afraid anyone would here. Draco looked around the empty room.

"Knows what, Mione? And who is he?" Draco asked impatiently.

"Voldermort," Hermione whispered. "He knows you cut it off, and he knows you did it for me. He knows it, that's why h-he.."

"What is it, Hermione? What did he do?"

"He killed my parents, Draco."

Draco stared at her, waiting for her to jump all of a sudden and say 'Gotcha!'. But she didn't. She just sat there, weeping solemnly, a blank look on her face, like life had been sucked out of her.

"I just got the news. They were murdered last night. Even before Dumbledore could tell them the news about my return," Hermione bawled.

"I-I didn't know, Hermione. I'm so sorry… It's all my fault," Draco whispered.

"You're damn right it is! I loved them so much, Draco, and now they're gone! I was looking forward to seeing them this summer, but now when I go home, there's nobody left for me to see…"

Draco reached out to take her hand, but she jerked back.

"Don't touch me," she snapped.

"Hermione…"

"No! You've done enough to me, Draco. Leave me alone."

Draco sighed and closed his eyes. He didn't know whether Hermione stayed or not, because he found himself falling back into deep slumber. He could hear Hermione's voice in a distance, whispering something, but he couldn't make the words out.

"What did you say?" Draco asked. He knew he was dreaming, but somehow the presence of Hermione there felt so real.

Hermione mumbled.

"Excuse me?"

_Isho ya phoed._

"What?"

_Is oh ya phoelt._

"I can't hear you, Hermione. Speak louder."

_This is all your fault._

Suddenly Hermione grinned at him eerily, as if she had turned evil.

"This is what traitors get, my boy," Hermione spoke in a manly, familiar voice. "I know you love her. So I'm going to kill her."

Why is that voice so familiar? Draco wondered. Then he remembered.

"You," Draco whispered angrily.

"Yes, me. Just say my name, V-o-l-d-e-r-m-o-r-t. It's as easy as A B C," he grinned wickedly.

"Why did you do it? Hermione's parents had nothing to do with this. Nothing at all! They were innocent people, and one of them even was a muggle!" Draco yelled.

"Do you think I care about who I kill? Death is nothing to me, son. I have died and reborn many, many times. The way I live is through death, if your mind isn't too dense to understand that," Voldemort said.

"Why didn't you kill me? I was the one who betrayed you! Why kill them?"

"Oh, I like it better this way. I'll see you soon, Draco," Voldermort said.

Draco opened his eyes and shot out of bed. The chair by his bed was empty. He got up and ran to the great hall. Barely anyone was there – dinner had just finished.

"Hermione!" he yelled across the hall. Some people looked away, thinking Draco was a madman, but a group of girls pointed east, meaning the Gryffindor common room. Draco didn't have time to say thanks. He hurried to the common room and stood outside, staring at the Fat Lady.

"Password?" she asked merrily.

"I don't know, just let me in," Draco said.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, young man," the Fat Lady replied.

"Let me in, fat arse," Draco yelled.

"Why, how dare you!"

Draco started hitting the big painting, kicking it and punching it, trying to tear it apart with his nails. The Fat Lady shrieked and quickly opened the door for him. Draco stumbled in and stopped when he saw Harry, Ron and Ginny sitting quietly by the fireplace.

"Malfoy, how did you get in-.."

"Where's Hermione?" Draco interrupted. He looked at Ginny and saw tears running down her face. "Where is she!" Draco yelled, panicking.

Ron stood up and walked over to Draco.

"Draco, please, just calm down," Ron said quietly.

"Don't tell me to calm down. Where the hell is she!"

"Draco, please…"

"Tell me!"

"She's not here, Draco," Harry finally answered.

"She's gone."

**Kay, hope you liked it. If you don't then I'll just rewrite the whole thing… I'm kinda desperate here – running out of ideas. Once again, please oh PLEEEEASSEE review… thanks ya'll!**


	15. Like A Papercut

"She's gone? What do you mean GONE!"

"Calm down, Malfoy!"

"Don't tell me to calm down, Weasley. Where is she?"

Ginny blew her nose. "Home. To her parents."

Draco sighed. _Thank God! I thought he took her…_

"Why did you look so worried a minute ago? It's not like You-Know-Who kidnapped her or something," Harry said.

"Well I thought it was. Thanks anyway, losers." Draco walked out of the door and heard the Fat Lady grumbling to herself.

_She's okay_, Draco thought, feeling relieved. _She's fine._

And then he heard someone whisper to him, "_No she's not_."

Draco turned around and stared at the Fat Lady. "Excuse me, did you say something?"

"What?" the Fat Lady looked at him, surprised.

"I said, did you say something?"

"No. I was just about to doze off."

Draco closed his eyes and opened them again. _I must be hallucinating. It's been a rough day. _

"_She's going to die, whether you like it or not_."

Draco looked at the Fat Lady again. She was already snoring away. Draco felt a chill run down his spine and quickened his pace to the Slytherin common room. He ran into his room and slammed the door shut, breathing heavily in the dark room. He saw the bodies of his friends rolled up in a bundle under their bed sheets, snoring softly.

"_You can't run from me_."

"Who said that?" Draco asked aloud. "Show your face!"

"_You can't see me. But I see you_," the voice teased.

"Malfoy? Go to sleep, man. Stop talking to yourself," Goyle muttered, yawning.

"I'm not talking to myself, you fool," Draco snapped. "There's someone – or something – in here."

"You still believe in the boogieman? That's just sad, Malfoy. Now go to sleep," Goyle said, dozing off. Malfoy sighed and crept up his bed, hiding under his sheet. He knew someone was after him, and that someone was getting closer and closer to him each day. He touched the bandage covering his left arm and winced. It was still bleeding, but not as badly. He stifled a yawn and closed his eyes, forgetting about the voice which had been haunting him just a second ago. Finally, he dozed off, with not a trace of pain left on his pale face.

"_I'm coming for you_."

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"Hermione," Aunt Serina said, hugging her niece tightly. "I'm so glad you could make it. I'm terribly sorry for your loss. Your parents were great people. Your mother was so beautiful and your father was always cracking jokes. Oh what a loss… what a loss indeed…"

"It's okay, Aunt Serina. I'm fine," Hermione said, when she wasn't even close to feeling fine.

"Follow me, darling," Aunt Serina led Hermione out of the train station to a small green convertible. Inside the car was a middle aged man with yellow teeth, whom Hermione recognized as her uncle.

"Hi Uncle Williams," Hermione said, smiling weakly. Aunt Serina picked Hermione's luggage up and brought it to the boot while Hermione got comfortable in the back seat.

"Hello my dear. It's a pleasure to have you here. I just want you to know that your parents were absolutely wonderful to us and-……"

_Oh for God's sake_, Hermione thought. _Do I have to go through this every single time I talk to someone?_

"-and we miss them very dearly. My condolences," Uncle Williams finished.

"Um, thank you," Hermione said uneasily. Uncle Williams started the engine and they headed off. Hermione missed the muggle world. Sometimes she wished she could be normal, so she would be an innocent little girl who wouldn't have a clue who Voldermort was, and live her life happily ever after. But no - she was given a chance to learn magic and live in an entirely different world, which didn't sound very appealing to her anymore. She had been excited during her first year at Hogwarts, but now, she wasn't so sure.

"Here we are," Aunt Serina said cheerfully minutes later. Hermione opened the door and examined her aunt's house. Her aunt had done some major changes in the past year – there was a newly built room, the living room filled with antics, and the walls were covered with pictures of Hermione's cousins.

"It's such a lovely house," Hermione commented. Aunt Serina face saddened and she looked away. "Your parents helped out with putting up the pictures," she said sadly.

Hermione coughed. "So… I'll be in my room if you need me," she said uneasily, heading for her aunt's guest room.

"In your room?" Aunt Serina laughed. "We don't have time for that, darling. You have to help me plan the funeral arrangements. Now, I don't think you should follow me to the funeral parlor – not exactly the best place to be right now. So I'll just take down your ideas on a few things and I'll handle the rest, alright darling?"

Hermione hated the way Aunt Serina called her darling. "Yeah, alright." She took a seat at the dining table and made herself comfortable while her aunt took out a piece of paper and a pen.

"Alright. Well, I'll be choosing the coffin design, so leave it to me," Aunt Serina drew an X on the paper. "Guests… leave that to me as well." She made another cross. "And this one… and this one too…" She finally stopped and smiled. "Here's something for you. What flowers do you want? Pick two different types."

Hermione sighed. This was her parents' funeral, and all she got to arrange were the types of flowers?

"Well, we could go with daisies and orchids, or sunflowers and jasmine, or frangipani and whatever! I don't know, aunty. Why don't you pick them? Since you're doing practically everything else," Hermione blurted out angrily. Aunt Serina stared at her with hurt in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I didn't know you felt that way," her aunt said weakly.

"Nobody knows how I feel. What – did all of you lose your heart overnight, because it's like everybody's not caring anymore!"

"Hermione, I'm sorry. It's just that I thought you wouldn't able to handle it," Aunt Serina explained.

"My parents died and I haven't committed suicide yet. Trust me, I can handle it." Hermione turned on her heels and stormed into her room, making sure she slammed the door hard and loud.

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_Hermione, _

_You're in danger. You need to come home now._

_Draco._

Draco stared at the letter he had written. It seemed too straight forward and fake. He crumpled it up and wrote another one.

_Hermione,_

_I think someone dangerous is coming after you. I don't want you to get hurt… I love you so much._

_Draco._

_Pathetic_, Draco thought. He crumpled that one as well and sat back on the comfy Slytherin couch, staring at the crackling fire on the mantelpiece.Hermione, IH

_This is not going to work_, he thought. _I have to tell her in person. But how am I to leave this school without anyone noticing?_

He knew he had to leave some way. He wouldn't let Hermione get hurt.

Draco got up and went to his room to get some bandages. He carefully unwrapped the bandage protecting his arm and held himself back from vomiting at the sight before him. He quickly cleaned his wound and wrapped a new clean cloth around it, wincing as he tugged it tight and taped it in place.

He lied down and closed his eyes. While he waited to drift off into slumber, he planned his escape. He would sneak out at midnight with his broomstick, head off to London, find Hermione's aunt's house, rescue her and bring her back to Hogwarts, where she would be safe………………

_Perfect._

_-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

It was a tough day for Hermione. Service agents, undertakers, relatives and people who probably had nothing to do with the funeral walked in and out of the house all day long, discussing the funeral arrangements. Aunt Serina attempted to get Hermione out of the room but gave up shortly. Hermione finally gave in 5 hours later and gobbled up lunch leftovers.

"Honey, it's dinnertime," Aunt Serina informed. Hermione frowned and got up lazily from the couch, tossing her Magical Creatures book aside.

"Alrighty, then," Uncle Williams said as they all sat down and began to feast. "Well, the funeral arrangements are all set. Though we have a problem with the flowers…"

Aunt Serina looked at Hermione warily and turned to her husband. "Will, now isn't a very good time to discuss that topic. Let's change the subject. How's school, Hermione?"

Hermione, with the same frowning face, poked at her food.

"Hermione? I said how's school," Aunt Serina repeated.

She kept playing with her food.

"Hermione, stop playing with your food," her aunt ordered. Hermione stopped and glared at her. She hated the way her aunt was trying to pretend she was Hermione's mother. _No one can replace my mom_, Hermione thought. _No one._

But she did stop playing with her food, and answered dryly, "School's great."

That was as far as any conversation went at that table that night.

Hermione got in her pajamas and slid into bed. She rubbed her eyes and sighed. She had not cried since she arrived muggle world, and she wasn't planning to. She didn't want to be like other girls – she wanted to be strong for her parents, and not bawl and bawl for days.

Minutes later, she realized she wasn't going to sleep no matter how much she tried to, so she focused her mind on the night sky outside her window. The moon was full again, which was considered a sign of danger as learnt in Astronomy. She yawned. Danger was nothing to her anymore.

Draco. The name appeared in Hermione's mind. She forced herself not to think of him at all, and had succeeded. But somehow it was all coming back to her, as if he was just nearby…

"Oh my G-.." Hermione started, but a hand covered her mouth.

"Shh. Please, Hermione. I don't want your parents to find out."

The hand relaxed, but was still near Hermione's face, just in case she screamed again.

"It's okay. I won't. Who are you? I can't see you in the darkness," Hermione said, trying to act tough.

"It's me," the voice whispered.

"Oh sure, that'll help. What's your name?"

"Draco Malfoy."

Hermione kept quiet. She hurried out of bed and turned the light on. "Draco?"

Standing before her was Draco, his hair all messed up. He was holding his broom and panting heavily.

"You flew here? All the way from Hogwarts!" Hermione exclaimed.

Draco nodded weakly.

"How did you find me! It's practically impossible!"

"It took me a long time to fly here, but it was easy finding you. I was so lucky to meet a kind old man who knew who you were. Well, actually, he knew your parents, but same difference."

Hermione stared at him. "I don't believe you."

Draco shrugged and rubbed his arms, shivering.

Hermione was about to bring him over to her bed and keep him warm, but she held herself back. She remembered that she was still angry at him for causing so much trouble to her life.

Draco stood there for a moment and realized that Hermione wasn't going to do anything, so he went up to the bed and got in himself.

"What? I'm cold," Draco said when he saw Hermione gaping at him.

"I'm not sleeping with you," Hermione said shortly.

"You don't have to," Draco answered.

Hermione frowned. "I am not going to sleep on the floor. It's dirty."

"Then you're going to have to sleep with me," Draco said simply.

Hermione grumbled for a while but turned off the light and got into bed anyway. She stayed as far away from him as possible and closed her eyes. Draco sighed and ruffled his hair, closing his eyes as well. He was so glad that he had made it here. Now he could protect her and keep her safe from anyone who would harm her, whether she was acting like a brat or not.

And then he heard sniffling.

"Hermione?" Draco whispered. She didn't reply.

"Hermione…" He didn't know whether to leave her alone or hug her tight.

"I'm so sorry, Draco," Hermione said. "I just c-can't believe y-you came here for m-m-me after what I did to you!"

Draco moved closer to her and hugged her. She buried her face in his sweater and cried even more. He could feel her tears against his skin now, wet and cold.

"My parents are gone and I was too selfish to cry!" Hermione bawled. "I don't deserve anyone, Draco. Not even you. I don't know how to love a person."

"That's not true. I know you love me, and I love you too. We could stay this way forever," Draco whispered in her ear.

"I know I'm in trouble, Draco. I know he's coming for me," Hermione said quietly.

"You do?"

"Yes… what other reason could there be for the sudden death of my parents?"

Draco sighed, unable to come up with anything else to say. He decided that the best thing he could do was lie in bed and hug her tightly, and to let her soak his whole shirt in her tears if that was what she wanted.

"Anything… anything for you," Draco whispered. Hermione cried even more at that and tugged on his shirt, trying to catch her breath. They stayed that way the whole night, till finally, she stopped, and she could cry no more.

Draco woke up to the peaceful sounds of birds chirping outside. He smiled to himself and stretched his arms. He opened his eyes slowly and carefully, trying to adjust to the brightness. And that's when he realized she was gone.

He ran outside of the house but no one was there. The house was empty and as silent as a mouse. He checked every room but found nothing. "Hermione?" he yelled, hoping for a response. He walked into a bedroom which he assumed as Hermione's aunt and uncle's room, and saw that the bed was untidy and unmade. Draco sensed that something had gone very, very wrong. He opened the bathroom door and jumped back, yelling and screaming curse words like he had never cursed before. He ran out of the house and panted, unable to erase the image in his mind. In that bathroom were Hermione's relatives, soaked in their own blood, with wide open, horrified eyes. At that, he knew who took Hermione.

And he was going to get her back.

Okay, I think I made a lot of grammar mistakes, but I'm kinda lazy to check. I'm also getting lazy to write this story, so I think I'm gonna end it in the next 2 or 3 chapters… blehh, sorry…. Have to focus more on my studies… And also, terribly sorry for writing it so late.. It's during the holidays over here so I'm bz partying and stuff, no time for writing… well, Bon Voyage my darling story…


	16. Love

"What did you do to her?"

Malfoy stared into Voldermort's cold eyes, trying to act strong.

"Nothing. Yet," Voldermort replied.

"Don't hurt her. This is between you and me, Voldermort," Draco said coldly.

"What if I want to, just for a little fun?" Voldermort teased.

It was easy for Draco to find Lord Voldermort. He had waited outside Hermione's aunt's house till dawn, when Voldermort and a few of his followers appeared before him.

"Where is she, you mindless idiot?" Draco spat.

"I would've killed you a long time ago for being rude, but that would've killed the fun.,' Voldermort grinned. "Hmm.. let me think.. where IS she?"

"I have no time for games," Draco snapped.

"Well I do."

Voldermort sighed. "Do you want to see her, boy?"

"Yes," Draco answered firmly. He was surprised at how Voldermort seemed like he was giving in.

"You must really love her…"

"Yes, with all my heart. Please… just bring her to me."

Voldermort gazed at the cold night sky in thought. "Hmm… well, no."

The death eaters laughed at Draco, whispering about his stupidity.

"As if I'll give in to you," Voldemort grinned widely.

Draco stomped his foot in rage and marched up to Voldermort, pulling his wand out. "Let me see her now." The death eaters snickered.

Voldermort grinned. "Look at your pitiful face. Alright, alright. Here you go."

All of a sudden, a big black opened at Hermione flew out, falling on her face hard.

"Hermione!" Draco rushed to her aid and hugged her tightly. Hermione was in a terrible shape – her hair was messed up, her lips were bleeding, one of her eyes was circled in a black ring and she had several knife cuts on her wrists.

"Draco?" Hermione replied weakly.

"You sick bastards! What have you done to her!" Draco yelled.

"Respect me, boy. I could finish off the both of you if you don't learn your manners. Gosh, what did Lucius teach you?" Voldermort said.

"I'm not afraid of you. I'll fight you!" Draco challenged.

"Oho!" Voldermort said. "Hear hear! This boy wants to fight me!" Voldermort's followers grinned, some shaking their heads. "Well, Draco, I take that challenge."

"Right here.. right now?" Draco said, unsure. "There are muggles around here.

"What's your point?" Voldermort said, taking out his wand in style. He smoothly cleaned it on his robes and gracefully lifted it in the air. "Positions."

Draco nervously walked a few feet in front of Voldermort and aimed his wand at him.

"Another boring match. It's too predictable," a death eater said.

"I'm already falling asleep," another replied. Draco tried to ignore them, resisting the urge to give them a good hex.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Voldermort confirmed.

"Never been so sure in my life," Draco replied confidently.

"Fool," Voldermort muttered under his breath. And the next thing Draco knew, he was on the ground, spitting out blood.

"That wasn't fair! I wasn't ready!" Draco yelled.

"Who said we were going to play fair?" Voldermort pointed his wand at Draco and grinned. "This is way too easy."

Draco grabbed his wand and pointed it at Voldermort. " Imp-.."

Before Draco could finish chanting his spell, Voldemort hexed him again. Draco fell to the ground, choking. He could feel his insides burning.

"Get up, boy. You're embarrassing yourself," Voldermort said.

Draco tried his best, but he couldn't. He laid on the ground helplessly, hoping for a miracle. He could hear Voldermort's followers snickering in the distance.

"Nobody's coming to save you, Draco."

Voldermort raised his wand one final time, his eyes wild like a madman. "Avada-"

"Expelliarmus!" Hermione screamed. Voldermort's wand flew out of his hand and hit the ground yards away.

"The clever girl has awoken. Take care of her Ruggen," Voldermort ordered. One of the death eaters hurried over to Hermione and pinned her down.

"Teenagers these days are so stubborn. Avada Kedavra."

Before Hermione could blink, Draco was gone.

"No," she said shortly. She refused to accept the fact that Draco was… was… gone.

Forever.

NO.

Hermione struggled out of Ruggen's grip and ran to Draco.

"No, Draco.."

"Aww, you didn't even get to tell him you loved him," Voldermort mocked.

"Please wake up…" Hermione pleaded. She shook him hard. "Please…"

"No point trying, girl. He's gone."

"Please, Draco…" she begged desperately.

"And now, you'll be gone as well. No point begging for life."

Hermione, crying a river, coldly turned to Voldermort. "No."

"No what?" Voldermort asked, slightly confused.

"I may die, lose in this battle, but I am most certainly not a coward, and I will not beg," Hermione said loudly. "I will not a die pleading to a disgusting creature like yourself."

"How dare you talk to the Dark Lord like that!" the death eaters started to yell, pulling out their wands.

"No, stay back," Voldermort ordered. "She's mine. You think you're so great, don't you, Miss Granger?"

Hermione glared at Voldermort. "Maybe I'm not great, but I'm definitely a better person than you are."

"No time for chat, master. Let's just murder her now!" Ruggen said, a hungry look in his eyes.

"Be quiet. Miss Granger, if you would please stand up," Voldermort said. Hermione stood up and took out her wand. "Fight me."

A sudden burst of light shone from Hermione's wand, the same time Voldermort's had. The two colors of red and blue collided in between them, causing the dark atmosphere at the graveyard seem so much brighter. Hermione closed her eyes and thought about her school, her friends, her parents, and Draco. She would see them again – she would not allow herself to die in the cemetery in front of a man with no heart. And by that, she was winning the duel. Her bright red light shone with power and before anyone could blink their eyes, it passed through Voldermort's body. Voldemort dropped his wand, gasping desperately for air. Had he lost?

He choked, blood dripping from the corners of his mouth. His eyes turned black as he fell to the ground and rolled on his back, his body twisted in an odd position. Hermione would've smiled if she wasn't surrounded by death eaters and a dead boy. She had done it. It would take Voldermort a lot of time to regain his strength, once she had stripped him off it.

"Who else wants a try at that?" Hermione asked, turning to the death eaters. They took a step back in fear.

"Let's go," Ruggen said, and they disappeared, leaving Hermione alone with Draco's body. She leaned down and lifted his head.

"They're gone, Draco. We're free now," she said to him, although she knew he couldn't hear her.

"It's over."

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"Draco Malfoy was a good man. He was never like his father – and although he sometimes seemed to make you think nothing good of him, he always had a great side of him we should use as an example. His death was an unfortunate tragedy, but although he no longer can be seen with our eyes – his memory stays forever."

The students of Hogwarts clapped at Dumbledore's speech, standing up in respect to Draco's death. They were assembled in the great hall, two days after the return of Hermione and Draco's body.

"And as for Hermione – her bravery will, as well, not be forgotten. To overcome her fears and to fight Lord Voldermort (half of the students shuddered at the sound of that name) needs a great deal of courage, hope, and most importantly, love. Take my words to the grave – love can overcome anything."

Everyone clapped again, with people hugging Hermione and congratulating her. She tried to smile, but she had no such luck. She could not overcome the fact that Draco was gone. She could no longer hear his voice, hold him close, kiss those lips… he had moved on now, and there was nothing she could do about it.

"Cheer up, Hermione. At least you returned safe," Ron said, trying to make Hermione feel better.

"Yes, but…"

"No buts. Just be happy that Draco's in a better place, and that you're far from any sort of danger, alright?"

"Oh, alright," Hermione gave in and began to feast.

After all, she had defeated Voldermort.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"That foolish mudblood actually thought she killed me!" Voldemort laughed.

Ruggen laughed as well. "She's just a little girl, my lord. She's stupid." He took out his wand and began to heal Voldermort's wounds.

"_I'm coming, Miss Granger. I'm coming to get you."_

**THE END.**

**Okay, so I edited it. Not that big a difference, though. I read back what I wrote before and OMG that was horrible. I totally apologize! So, read up. **

**Zarroc : Thanks for the idea about the epilogue. I decided to put it in this chapter, though. Thank ya so much! You rock!**

**Love,**

**Chelsea Felton.**


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